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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
[COMPETITION GUIDELINES 2012]
GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Contents
Section 1 – Overview of the Google Online Marketing Challenge ............................ 3
Overview……..…………………………………………………………………………………………….3
Key Dates…………………..………………………………………………………………………………4
Competition Process………………………….…………………………………………………………..5
Section 2 – For Professors ........................................................................................... 8
Registration Process……………………………...………………………………………………………8
Student Verification………………….……………………………………………………………………8
Teaching Resources……………………………………..……………………………………………….8
Section 3 – For Students ............................................................................................... 9
Registration and Crediting Process…………………………………….………………..……………..9
Section 4 – Selecting a Business or Non Profit Organization ................................. 10
Guidelines to Select or Business or Organization.……………….................................................10
Non Profit Organization……………………… ...………………………………………………………10
Letters to Businesses or Non Profit Organization……………………………………………………11
Section 5 – Judging Criteria and Prizes..................................................................... 11
Judging Criteria…………………….……………………………………………………………………11
Prizes……………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
Section 6 – Terms and Conditions ............................................................................. 13
Section 7 – GOMC FAQs ............................................................................................. 13
Section 8 – About AdWords ........................................................................................ 17
Learning & Resources………………………………………………………………………………….17
Section 9 – About Google+ ......................................................................................... 18
Learning & Resources…………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Appendix A – Letter to Businesses ............................................................................ 23
Appendix B – Campaign Statistics ............................................................................. 24
Appendix C – Written Reports .................................................................................... 25
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Section 1 - OVERVIEW
Hello!
Welcome to the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) 2012!
GOMC is an exciting opportunity for students to experience and create online marketing
campaigns using Google AdWords and Google+. And of course there are cool prizes to
win! Over 50,000 students from almost 100 countries have participated in the past years.
With a US$250 budget provided by Google, students develop an online advertising
strategy for a real business or non-profit organization that has not used AdWords in the
last six months. The campaign must run during any three consecutive weeks between
January 31, 2012 and June 8, 2012. An independent academic panel along with Google
will judge and select the winners. The top teams, that develop and communicate the most
successful campaigns, win awesome prizes.
This year includes a new category of award, the Social Media Award to incorporate the
increasing importance of social media in online marketing. Students who maintain a
Google+ page for six consecutive weeks for their clients (in addition to their AdWords
campaign) are eligible for this optional award. We are eager to see how budding
marketers develop social strategies for businesses and non-profit organizations!
The GOMC 2012 is open for student teams of three to six members, regardless of their
majors. All students must register under a verified professor/instructor at a higher
education institution.
Good Luck!
The Google Team
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Key Dates
November 16, 2011 January 31, 2012
Professor Registration Opens Student Registration Opens
January 31 – June 8, May 1, 2012
2012
Student teams run their AdWords Professor Registration Closes
campaigns over any three consecutive
weeks and maintain a Google+ page
over any six consecutive weeks. All
campaigns must finish within this
period
May
11,
2012
June
15,
2012
Student Registration Closes Deadline for uploading Post-Campaign
Report, Impact Statement & Social Media
Execution write up to the student dashboard
Late
July
2012
August
2012
Global and Regional Winner Social Impact Award & Social Media
New!!
Announcements Award Winner Announcements
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Competition Process
Ready to get rolling?
Step 1: How do I enter the Challenge?
a. Professors register on the website: Professors can register from November 16, 2011 to May 1,
2012. Once a professor registers, he or she will receive a confirmation email. Google will then
verify their employment at the educational institution. Verification may vary depending on the
institution. Please refer to the website registration form for details
www.google.com/onlinechallenge/registration.html.
b. Students form teams of 3-6 and select a team captain: Each team must have an existing or
new Google Account that all members can access. To set up a new Google Account, please see
www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount. All Challenge-related emails go to this account. Students
should ensure their professor registered for the Challenge, as they must enter the registered
professor’s email address to complete the registration.
PLEASE NOTE: Students and professors should check their email ‘spam’ folders, as some email
software may flag Challenge emails as spam.
c. Select a business. The team along with its professor should identify a client business or non-
profit organization. Please refer to the Selecting a Business or Non-profit Organization section for
details.
d. Register on the Student Dashboard. Students can register from January 31, 2012 to May 11,
2012. Please see Section 3 For Students for registration details.
e. Professors receive notification email to verify the student team. The professor verifies (by
clicking the link) that the team is associated with him/her
Once you have done that, you have completed the registration process!
Step 2: How do I participate in the Challenge?
Now that your Professor has verified your registration, you are set to compete with students all over the
world! You need to understand the following three terms:
• The Student Dashboard: This is the online location where you registered and the place where
you will upload all of your reports.
• AdWords Account: This is where you create and run your online ads.
• Google+ Page: If you are participating in the optional Social Media Award component of the
competition, this is where you will post status updates, photos and create a social media presence
for your business or non-profit organization
Since we use these terms quite extensively, understanding them helps you enjoy and do well in the
Challenge.
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Creating & Running AdWords Campaigns (Mandatory)
This is the mandatory component of the Challenge. The following steps guide you to set up your online ad
campaigns using AdWords.
a. Students log into the AdWords account. You create an AdWords account at
http://adwords.google.com. You can use the same Google account for AdWords that you are using
for the dashboard or you can create a new one. Once you login to your AdWords account, note the
10-digit customer ID as shown in the snap shot below.
b. Link your AdWords account to the Student Dashboard. Enter the 10-digit customer ID into the
Student Dashboard and your AdWords account information for that team will appear in the student
dashboard.
c. Meet with your business and write/submit your Pre-Campaign Report. To succeed and have
fun in the Challenge, you should understand what the business does and what it hopes to achieve
from online marketing. Allocate time to meet with the business and write your Pre-Campaign
Report. The report must be submitted to your professor and uploaded to Google at least 24 hours
before you start your campaign. Please refer to “Appendix C: Written Reports” for details.
d. Learn AdWords. AdWords is easy to set up but challenging to master. With only three weeks and
$250, it is essential that you are comfortable with AdWords and have a good account structure
from the beginning. Fortunately, you have plenty of resources to help you learn about AdWords.
Please see “Section 8: About AdWords” for more information.
e. Credit Your Account. Once you upload your Pre-Campaign Report, a coupon code will appear in
the Student Dashboard. Enter your contact details and this code on the Billing tab (see below for
instructions) to credit your AdWords account with $250.
IMPORTANT: If your campaigns are active, they will start running immediately upon crediting the
account. PAUSE your campaigns until you are ready to begin them. Teams will not get additional
money if they forget to pause their initial campaigns.
f. Run Your AdWords Campaigns. You may run your campaign over any three consecutive weeks
from January 31, 2012 to June 8, 2012. Any account that serves impressions for less than 7 days
or more than 25 days is disqualified, as is any account that spends more than $250 (spending a
few cents below $250 is acceptable).
g. Write and Submit Your Post-Campaign Report. Your professor/instructor sets the date for
submitting this report, which must be within four weeks after their AdWords campaign ends and no
later than June 15, 2012. Your team must write and submit the Report to your professor and
Google to be eligible for the Challenge. Please refer to “Appendix C: Written Reports” for details.
Remember, Google MUST receive both your Pre-Campaign Report and Post-Campaign Report on
time to be eligible for the competition!
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h. Impact Statement. If you chose a non-profit organization, you must submit an Impact Statement
to be eligible for the Social Impact Award. Please refer to “Appendix C: Written Reports” for details.
Maintaining Google+ Page (OPTIONAL)
This component of the competition is optional and is not necessary to be eligible for the Challenge’s Global
and Regional AdWords Awards. We know most students these days are incredibly savvy when it comes to
social media– love to post status updates, photos and share their thoughts with friends online. Why not use
this skill to help your client (business or the non-profit organization) have an even more successful
marketing strategy and win exciting prizes?
Please note that the business or non-profit organization that you choose must be the same for both the
AdWords campaign and the Google+ Page. Here is what you need to do:
a. Create a Google+ Page. Student teams that wish to be eligible for the Social Media Award should
work with their client to create and maintain a Google+ Page. The business owner must create the
+Page first (if it is not already created) and then add the students as managers. To create a
+Page, the business or non-profit organization must have a personal Google+ account. After
creating the Page the business owner can then add the student team member(s) as “manager(s)”.
Please refer to “Section 7: GOMC FAQs” for exact steps. Do note that once a Google+ Page is
deleted it cannot be retrieved back. So be careful with who manages the Google+ Page.
b. Prepare your Social Media Strategy Write Up. Meet with your clients and discuss what they
could achieve by using Google+ Pages (e.g. let customers know about their new and existing
services, have live multi-person video chat with customers, give behind the scenes tours, get
customer feedback, give special offers to followers etc.) Your team should devise a social
marketing plan and write a two-page Social Media Strategy. Please refer to “Appendix C: Written
Reports” for more details. The report should be uploaded to the Student Dashboard in the Social
Media Section at the start of the competition.
c. Verify your Google+ Page. Enter the URL of the Google+ page in the text box in the Social Media
Section of the Student Dashboard and click “Verify”. The system will immediately load that page
and verify that it is a valid Google+ page. If the verification is successful the URL will be stored for
us to track.
d. Select your 6-week competition window. You can choose any six-week (42 days) period
between January 31, 2012 and June 8, 2012 that you want us to judge your Google+ Page. You
must start on a Monday in this period (January 31, 2012 to June 8, 2012) and actively update the
Google+ during the selected six-week timeframe. You will be prompted to select a start date from
a list of options once +Page verification is complete.
Please note that we will only assess performance during the selected six-week period.
Furthermore, your Page must be alive and running (not deleted) in June to participate in this
component of the competition; teams can run the Google+ page along with their AdWords
campaign or start at a later date – it is completely up to professors and their students.
e. Prepare your Social Media Execution Write Up. Participants must write a two-page Social
Media Execution Write up and upload it to the Social Media Section of the Student Dashboard.
The professor determines the date for submitting this report, which can be submitted anytime after
the end of the AdWords competition (even if Google+ portion is still running) and before June 15,
2012.
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Step 3: Phew! Finished running my campaigns... what’s next?
a. Report Results to the Business or Non-profit organization. Once the campaign finishes, you
should share the results with the business or non-profit organization. If they would like to continue
running AdWords, the business should create a new AdWords account that they control. You can
use AdWords Editor (google.com/adwordseditor) to download and transfer the campaigns to the
new account. If you do this prior to the competition ending, definitely feel free to include this point
in your Post-Campaign Report.
b. Provide Feedback. After the Challenge has ended, Google may contact you to complete an
optional post-participation survey. Your feedback is critical to helping us improve the Challenge.
c. Wait for the results!
Section 2 – FOR PROFESSORS
Registration
Professors can register at www.google.com/onlinechallenge/registration.html anytime from November 16,
2011 to May 1, 2012. Professors must register for the 2012 challenge regardless of whether they
participated in prior years or pre-registered for GOMC 2012. Professors will receive an email confirmation
upon registering. If a professor’s status as currently affiliated/employed by a recognized educational
institution cannot be verified, he/she may be ineligible.
Student Verification
Once student teams begin registering, the professor will receive emails with a link to verify that the team is
affiliated with him/her. Professors should click on the links to complete the student verification. Do ensure
Professors check their email ‘spam’ folders, as some email software may flag Challenge emails as spam.
The student teams cannot participate unless this step is completed.
Teaching Resources
Below are resources to help professors, students, and participating businesses/non-profit organizations
benefit from and enjoy the Challenge.
Oversee student teams with a My Client Center
Professors may want to monitor and track their teams’ progress. If so, professors can set up a My Client
Center (MCC), an "umbrella" account that allows them to link with several AdWords accounts ("child
accounts"). The MCC will let professors access their teams’ AdWords accounts at any time to monitor their
progress. To set this up, visit www.google.com/adwords/MyClientCenter, click "Sign up now," and follow
the step-by-step instructions. Remember to set up your MCC with an email address not associated with
any other AdWords account.
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Encourage students to think like a business.
Year after year, professors and students note that a valuable aspect of the Challenge is building and
maintaining relationships with real businesses. This relationship is also a challenging aspect since
students often approach online marketing from a theoretical perspective more so than a practical
perspective. To understand the opportunities and challenges small businesses face -- and how teams can
help via online marketing -- we recommend consulting some favorite resources such as Entrepreneur
(entrepreneur.com), Inc. (inc.com), Wall Street Journal Small Business (wsj.com/smallbusiness), The Long
Tail (Revised and Updated), Chris Anderson (2008) and Zero Moment of Truth, Jim Lecinski (2011).
Please refer to Section 8 About AdWords and Section 9 About Google+ for more information on resources
available.
Section 3 – FOR STUDENTS
Registration and Crediting Process
Step 1: Register Your Team
1. Go to the competition registration section at www.google.com/onlinechallenge/registration.html and
click to register for the Student Dashboard between January 31, 2012 and May 11, 2012.
2. If you are logged into a Google Account, this will be your dashboard login. If not, you will be taken to a
page to login to your Google Account or to create a new one. If you decide to create a new login, make
sure someone checks this account often as important notices will be sent to it!
3. Once you register, your professor will receive an email to verify the team. Please note: If your
professor does not receive the email it may be in his/her spam filter.
4. Once the account has been verified, you need to create an AdWords account at
www.adwords.google.com
5. Enter the 10-digit customer ID, found in the upper right corner of your AdWords account, into the
Student Dashboard.
Step 2: Crediting Your Account
1. Upload your Pre-Campaign Report (and Social Media Strategy write up if applicable) to the Student
Dashboard.
2. Once the report has been uploaded, a unique coupon code will appear.
3. Go to the Billing Tab of your AdWords account, and click on “Billing Preferences”.
4. Select the country, then enter your contact details, and press “continue”. If prompted for your currency,
select the currency of your choice, the coupon code value will automatically be converted.
5. Select “Manual Payments”, and where it asks for an optional “promo code”, enter the coupon code and
press continue.
6. Review and accept the AdWords terms and conditions.
7. US$250 will automatically appear in your account on the Billing Summary tab within a couple minutes.
8. At no point will you be required to enter a credit card for the ads to run. Keep in mind that any account
that spends more than the coupon allows will be disqualified, so it is best not to enter a credit card at
all.
IMPORTANT: If you have active campaigns (with active ad groups, ads and keywords), they will begin
running immediately. PAUSE them until you are ready to start running your campaigns.
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Section 4 – SELECTING A BUSINESS OR
NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION
A key Challenge goal is to give students practical, hands-on online advertising experience. Students
should think of themselves as professional marketing consultants. Please note that businesses or the non-
profit organizations need not, nor may not, follow a consultant’s advice.
Businesses can range from one-man local shops to multi-national companies. The selected business or
organization should not have used AdWords within the last six months. The businesses or non-profit
organizations can refer to Appendix A Letter to Business/Non-profit organization and the business section
of the FAQs on the Challenge website www.google.com/onlinechallenge/faq.html to see the benefits of
participating in the challenge.
Guidelines to select your clients for the Challenge
Keyword searches. Try to work with businesses relevant to search queries that Google users conduct.
Good examples would be a traditional retail business (e.g. housewares store, online gift shop etc.) or
service businesses (e.g. movers and packers, plumbing and electrical services etc.). You might want to try
a few keyword searches for goods and services relevant to your potential business before making your
final selection.
Businesses to avoid. When searching for likely businesses, remember that you may compete against
many companies that spend large advertising budgets and bid very highly on the same keywords you may
want to use. With this in mind, you might want to avoid businesses in competitive industries such as Web
Hosting, Web Design Agencies, Insurance Companies, Law Firms, Moving Companies, Mortgage
Agencies, Debt Consolidation Companies, Multi-level Marketers, Distributors and Affiliate Companies. You
can use the Keywords Tool on the Reporting and Tools tab of your AdWords account to get bid estimates
for keywords when deciding upon a good industry.
By registering for the competition, you face the same guidelines as all other advertisers. This is a real-
world competition. You must follow Google AdWords policies
(http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&guide=23679&page=guide.cs), such as NOT
running AdWords for sites promoting inappropriate items such as scams, alcohol (depending on country),
bulk marketing, or counterfeit designer goods. Violations can result in suspension of your account.
Landing page. When your ad is clicked, the customers are taken to a page on the business’s website
referred to as the landing page. The 'landing page quality score' of the website can affect your account
performance. When selecting your business, ensure its website is suitable by reading the landing page
and site quality guidelines (http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=46675)
google.com. You may also suggest, but not mandate, improvements for your client’s landing pages.
Non Profit Organization
Any nonprofit organization with public charitable status (as stipulated in Section 6. Terms and Conditions)
is eligible for the Social Impact Award, provided the Impact Statement is submitted on time. Each finalist
organization may be asked to provide proof of its charitable status by providing relevant official
documentation appropriate to the organization's country.
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Letter to Businesses or Non-profit organizations
Teams must deliver the ‘Letter to Businesses’ (Appendix A: Letter to Businesses or Non-profit
organizations) to prospective clients. This important step makes the business aware of the nature of the
Challenge and what it can expect by participating. All the business must do is verbally agree that you may
promote their site using Google AdWords. If the business contact does not speak English, you must
communicate the content of the letter effectively enough for the business contact to understand.
Remember: think of yourselves as consultants, and the business as the client. That is, you work for the
business and not the other way around. Make sure the business understands everything that will happen
and how you will follow up with them once the campaign ends.
Section 5 – JUDGING CRITERIA &
PRIZES
Judging Criteria
Now lets see how you win the three awards. The following table summarizes of the criteria for each award.
These criteria are elaborated in this section.
Award For teams running… Criteria
Global & The AdWords Campaigns 1. Campaign Statistics
Regional Awards 2. Pre-Campaign and Post-Campaign reports
Social Impact The AdWords Campaigns 1. Campaign Statistics
Awards for Non-profit Organization 2. Pre-Campaign, Post-Campaign reports and
Impact Statement
Social Media The AdWords Campaigns 1. Campaign Statistics
Awards and a Google+ Page 2. Google+ Performance Indicators
3. Google+ Page, Social Media Strategy and
Social Media Execution Write Ups
Global & Regional Awards Judging Criteria
There are two components:
1. Campaign Statistics that Google will assess
2. Pre Campaign and Post Campaign reports that an independent academic panel will assess
Step 1: Selecting the top five teams in each region: To select finalists, Google first compares Campaign
Statistics across all competing teams. Google’s proprietary Campaign Statistics algorithm considers over
30 factors within an AdWords account to determine effective online marketing. This algorithm ranks the top
15 accounts in each of the four regions (Asia/Pacific, Americas, Europe, Middle East/Africa). Please refer
to Appendix B: Campaign Statistics for more details
Google AdWords experts then apply an extra level of rigor to select the top five accounts in each region.
The factors that they use to judge include campaign and ad group structure, keyword quality scores, use of
product features such as ad extensions and dynamic keyword insertion (if applicable), and ad text best
practices such as including a call-to-action phrase and matching ad text with the keywords in the ad group.
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Step 2: Selecting the Regional and Global winners: An independent Global Academic Panel reviews
the Pre-Campaign and Post-Campaign Reports of the top five teams in each region to select the regional
and global winners. It takes great campaign statistics to make the regional top five, and then great written
reports to win. Over a dozen academics globally helped develop the written report criteria. Please refer to
Appendix C: Written Reports for details on Pre-Campaign and Post-Campaign Reports
Social Impact Awards Judging Criteria
There are two components:
1. Campaign Statistics that Google will assess
2. Pre-Campaign, Post-Campaign and Impact reports that independent panel of leaders from the
non-profit sector will assess
Step 1: Selecting the top ten teams: Google will use the campaign statistics from the AdWords accounts
to determine the top ten Student Groups working with non-profit organization.
Step 2: Selecting the three winners: An independent panel of leaders from the non-profit sector will then
review the Pre-Campaign and Post-Campaign Reports, together with the Non-Profit Impact Statement, to
select from these Student Groups the winners of the. Please refer to Appendix C: Written Reports for
details on the Impact Statement
Social Media Awards Judging Criteria
There are three components:
1. Campaign Statistics that Google will assess
2. Google+ Performance Indicators that Google will assess
3. Google+ Page, Social Media Strategy and Social Media Execution write ups that independent
academic panel will assess
Step 1: Selecting the top two Finalist teams in each region: Since the primary focus of the competition
remains on AdWords, a team must excel in both AdWords and Google+ to be a contender for the Social
Media Award. To be a semi-finalist for the Social Media award, the team must both place among the top 15
teams in each region (using the campaign statistics algorithm based on AdWords performance,
irrespective of Google+ performance), as well as have a Google+ page. Therefore, there is a maximum of
60 Social Media semi-finalist teams. Google will then review each of the semi-finalist teams on the
performance of their social media campaign.
The Google+ pages must meet minimum requirements:
• Must be a new or inactive account (no posts or updates for at least 30 days)
• Must have description of company and link to website in About section
• Must have a profile picture
• Must post at least twice per week during the 6-week contest time frame (total of 12 posts)
• Must host at least two Hangouts during the 6-week contest time frame
Google will hand pick the top two teams in each region by assessing +Pages on the factors including but
not limited to:
• Number of +1s
• Number of followers
• Use of features like social extensions, hangouts Google+ Badge
• Frequency and quality of postings/+page user engagement
• Inventiveness/creativity
Step 3: Selecting the Global and Regional Social Media Winners: An independent panel of academic
judges will then judge the quality of each Social Media Finalist’s Google+ Page, Social Media Strategy and
Social Media Execution Write ups to select the winners. Please refer to “Appendix C: Written Reports”
for details on Social Media Strategy and Social Media Execution Write ups
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Prizes
There are four competition regions - The Americas, Europe, Middle East/Africa, and Asia-Pacific. In
addition to a winner from each region, there will be a global winner. All winning teams will receive laptops,
as well as other prizes!
Online Challenge Global Winner
The winning student team and their professor receive certificates and a seven-night trip to San Francisco,
including one day at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California to meet with Googlers from the
AdWords and Marketing teams. Each student and professor will also receive a laptop.
Online Challenge Regional Winners
Each of the four regional winner teams and their professor receive certificates and a two-night trip to a
regional Google office. Each student and professor will also receive a laptop.
Social Impact Award Winners
The Social Impact Award winners will receive the following:
● 1st place – certificates and a $15,000 donation to the non-profit partner
● 2nd place - certificates and a $10,000 donation to the non-profit partner
● 3nd place - certificates and a $5,000 donation to the non-profit partner
Social Media Award WinnersNew
Similar to the overall Online Challenge prizes, there will be one Global Social Media Award Winner and
four Regional Social Media Award Winners (one from each region). The Regional and Global Social Media
Award Winners will receive a certificate, a cool tablet device and an exciting opportunity to participate in a
Google+ Hangout with Google senior executives (to be scheduled at Google’s discretion). In addition, the
Global winners and their professor will be invited to attend a major social media conference to be held
within their region and will include a two day overnight stay in the city where the conference is held. The
Social Media Award winners are also eligible for the overall Online Challenge prizes.
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions at www.google.com/onlinechallenge/terms.html for the
complete information on prizes and eligibility.
Section 6 – TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The Terms and Conditions can be found on the Challenge website at
www.google.com/onlinechallenge/terms.html.
Section 7 – GOMC FAQs
For questions about the Challenge, your best place for answers is the Google Online Marketing Challenge
Website FAQ at www.google.com/onlinechallenge/faq.html. For now, here are answers to some frequently
asked questions.
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What if the class supervisor isn't a professor?
To keep things simple, the term 'professor' refers to any currently employed academic supervising student
teams in the Challenge.
What are a professor's responsibilities as a supervisor?
Ideally, professors will mentor and work with the students to ensure they have a solid understanding of
online marketing and the Challenge, receive Challenge materials, select an appropriate business and
submit their reports on time. Beyond that it's up to them. Some professors run a competition among the
class teams or invite the participating businesses to relevant class presentations.
What will the students learn by competing in the Challenge?
At the end of the Google Online Marketing Challenge, students should be able to:
• Given the opportunity, choose to discuss online marketing and media planning.
• Using examples, share the learning experience of group work
• Using examples, share the learning experience of business consulting.
• Using examples, explain the following terms: banner advertisement, click-through-rate, conversion,
landing page, optimization techniques, ROI and text advertisements.
• Using examples, contrast mass advertising and context-sensitive advertising.
• Using examples, contrast the advantages and disadvantages of three online advertising payment
models: pay-per-click, cost per thousand impressions (CPM) and affiliate (refer to the Glossary at
https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=29)
• Using examples, illustrate technical and cultural factors affecting the success of online advertising
campaigns.
• Using examples, illustrate the difficulties of developing a web-based marketing campaign that will
stand out among the billions of web pages available.
• Using examples, explain incorporating social media into a company’s integrated marketing
communication.
What obligations does the participating business have?
Ideally, the business will take an active interest in the campaign, such as explaining its business and online
marketing objectives, and providing feedback on the proposed campaign strategy, interim campaign
results and campaign changes. Student teams act as online marketing consultants to the business or non-
profit organizations. However the businesses and non-profit organizations are under no obligation to follow
student recommendations, or to continue advertising on AdWords after the end of the competition.
How can students contact Google?
For questions or troubleshooting issues with your AdWords account (such as disapproved ads, policy
questions, or general performance tips), you should contact the AdWords support team directly, see this
page for details: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=8206
For challenge-specific questions, you can email at onlinechallenge@google.com. Please note that it can
take up to five business days to respond to the queries (and sometimes longer during high-volume times).
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What kind of AdWords advertising should the students run?
There are various ad formats available to AdWords advertisers, however this competition evaluates your
text ads solely on the Search and Display networks. Your business may want to use other formats such as
image or video ads, but please note that these results will not count in the Challenge and use some of your
budget. Student teams should use on text ads, only on the Search and Display networks.
Should teams work towards clicks, click through rate, Impressions etc.?
Clicks and impressions are important elements of the campaign but there is no single, perfect AdWords
account. The aim of the Challenge is to help students develop sound online marketing strategies. Teams
should structure their AdWords account to accomplish the goals agreed upon with the selected business
client.
For example if the client intends to increase its online brand awareness, number of impressions is an
appropriate measure. Or if the goal is newsletter sign ups, the measure will be click through rates and
actual sign ups (assuming the client will share actual sign ups). The appropriate metrics depend on what
the selected business wants to achieve.
The competition is not about any one particular AdWords statistic, rather how you set goals in the
Pre-Campaign Report, how you interpret and react to the results during the campaign, and finally, how you
discuss your results in the Post-Campaign Report. Think about how your results align with the goals of
your selected business and changes you recommend.
Who can compete for the Social Media Award
Teams that run a Google+ Page for a business or non profit organization along with the mandatory
AdWords campaign and whose Page meet the following minimum criteria
• Must be a new account or an inactive account (no posts or updates for the last one month)
• Must have description of company and link to website in About section
• Must have a profile picture
• Must post at least twice times per week during the selected six-week time frame (total of 12 posts)
• Must host at least two Hangouts during the selected six-week time frame
In order to compete in the AdWords component of GOMC must I create a Google+
Page?
No, the Social Media Award is an optional component of the GOMC. Student teams need not create a
Google+ Page to be eligible for the GOMC Regional, Global or Social Impact Awards.
Who can create a Google+ Page for the Business?
The Business must initially set up their Google+ Page. To create their +Page they must have a personal
Google+ account. After creating a +Page the business owner must then add your team member(s) as
“manager(s)”. The entire setup process should take the business owner approximately five minutes to
complete.
How does the Business owner add team members as Managers of a Page?
To add a manager to a Google+ page:
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
1. The Business must use the menu on the side of the page to switch over to the page for which they
would like to add a manager.
2. Click Settings at the top corner of the stream.
3. On the side of the page, select Managers.
4. Enter the email address of the team members they want to invite to be a manager and click Invite.
(Note: people can accept invitations to become managers, and sign up if they haven’t already, with
a different email address than the one the invitation was sent to.)
5. Confirm that they want to invite person as Manager
6. When a team member accepts an invitation to become a manager, the owner of the page will be
notified via email. The ‘Managers’ section of your page settings displays all the active managers,
as well as the email addresses of invited managers. As invitations are accepted, the email
addresses will be replaced with the names of the managers. The owner and all managers can
view this information.
How much effort will it take to manage a Google+ Page?
Managing a page will take as much effort as you want to put into it. It is fairly simple to set-up, and get it
running. The time you spend on Google+ will depend on your marketing strategy and community
outreach.
How do I manage Circles if I get thousands of people circling my brand?
We are interested in your ideas and thoughts here, as we think people will do them a number of ways.
Some suggestions are to have a circle of people who circled you, you can add everyone who responds to
a certain post to a circle, and select people based on what they post. Over time, we plan to add more
features to help you manage and scale your circles more easily.
How does a Business/page owner remove student page Managers at the end of
the competition?
The business will need to login as the Page Owner and follow the following steps:
1. Use the menu on the side of the page to switch over to the page for which you’d like to remove a
manager.
2. Click Settings at the top corner of the stream.
3. On the side of the page, select Managers.
4. In the row with the name of the manager you want to remove, click X.
5. Confirm you want to remove that manager.
When a manager is removed, both the former manager and the page owner will be notified and told who
removed them.
Someone on my team deleted our Google+ Page. Can I get it back?
Once a Page is deleted it CANNOT be retrieved.
What languages can the reports be in?
The main support materials are in English, however you can run advertising in your local language. But
you should submit the reports in one of these 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German,
Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Czech and Hindi. They will then be
translated to English for the final judging round.
16
GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
What did past participants say about the Challenge?
"The
Challenge
energized
"This
experience
has
been
"Sharp
minds,
energetic
"Students
have
first
hand
me
and
my
students.
The
one
of
the
absolute
marketers
and
a
free
experience
with
real
ability
to
work
with
a
real-‐ highlights
of
my
college
AdWords
budget.
I
would
clients
and
real
budgets
to
life
client
and
spend
‘real
experience;
I
wish
more
strongly
recommend
get
real
results.
Is
there
a
money’
on
Google
opportunities
were
participating
in
the
better
way
to
g ain
AdWords
was
unique
a nd
available
like
this."
Challenge
to
a ny
experience
with
the
real
exciting."
business."
world?"
Section 8 - ABOUT ADWORDS
AdWords is Google’s online advertising platform, which places ads in two main ways.
1. The Search Network, where advertisers place text ads on the pages of Google.com search engine
results next to the organic (i.e. free) listings, as well as on other search engines (known as Search
Partners).
2. The Display Network, where advertisers place ads on other websites across the Web (i.e.
YouTube, NYTimes.com, About.com) in various formats including text, image, and video ads.
For the Challenge, teams should use only text ads on the Search and Display Networks
The advertiser only pays each time the user clicks on the ad, and accesses the advertised web page.
Advertisers have full control over the targeting of their campaigns (by geography, time of day and
language), the budget, the keywords that trigger the publication of their ads and the ad text. All these
adjustments can be made easily and in real time.
Learning and Teaching Resources
Beyond the information about AdWords located above, additional resources follow below:
Getting Started
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Creating Your Account
You can sign into your AdWords account via the Google AdWords Homepage at
www.google.com/adwords
Learning Resources
• AdWords for Beginners Guide is a great place to learn about the building blocks of setting up an
account. www.google.com/adwords/beginnersguide. This
booklet
gives
you
information
about:
o Account Structure
o Keywords
o Ads
o Display Network,
o Understanding the success in AdWords
• Short video tutorials on online marketing and AdWords are available at the ‘Learn with Google’
website, http://www.google.com/ads/learn which will be handy for quick references.
Troubleshooting Resources
The AdWords Help Center contains answers to almost everything about AdWords. When in doubt,
search here! https://adwords.google.com/support
Can’t find what you’re looking for in the Help Center? Ask non-GOMC questions in the AdWords Help
Forum! www.google.com/support/forum/p/AdWords?hl=en
Managing and Optimizing an AdWords Account
To learn AdWords inside and out, Google AdWords Learning Center has multi-media and text-based
learning modules, including quizzes and videos. www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/index.html
Need to optimize your account? The Optimization Center has comprehensive strategies.
adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/static.py?hl=en&guide=21804&page=guide.cs
With the Marketing a Business Online guide, you’ve got all the videos and worksheets you’ll need to
develop the right online marketing strategy. http://www.google.com/ads/learn/marketing-business.html
For suggestions on selecting appropriate keywords, check out the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
Want to know more about keyword traffic and costs? Use the Google Traffic Estimator!
https://adwords.google.com/select/TrafficEstimatorSandbox
Section 9 – ABOUT GOOGLE+
General
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Google+ (plus.google.com) is a project that aims to make sharing on the web more like sharing in the real
world. Google+ features include:
• Circles: Share the right things with the right people.
• Hangouts: Pop in and out of live video hangouts anytime, from anywhere, with up to ten people at the
same time.
• Instant Upload: If you opt-in, every photo and video you take on your phone uploads automatically to
a secure album in the cloud.
• Messenger: Making group plans? Turn multiple conversations into one simple group chat.
• +1: Love some one else’s posts, or photos? Click the +1 to show it!
How is Google+ different from other social networking services?
The main difference with Google+ is the ability to share just the right things with the right people. Circles
make it easy to put your friends from Saturday night in one circle, your parents in another, and your boss
in a circle by himself- just like real life. And Google+ sits on top of existing Google products so the
experience is fun and simple to use. For people who already use Google, this is a great upgrade.
What is a Google+ Page?
Google+ Pages provides businesses, products, brands, and organizations with a public identity and
presence on Google+. Google+ pages interact in the Google+ world similar to the way that regular
Google+ profile owners do - they can
• Add people to circles (http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1047826)
• Edit their profile (http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=97706)
• Share things on Google+
(http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1053549)
• +1 comments and photos
(http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1295930)
• Create and join Hangouts
(http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1215275)
Why should I get my businesses on Google+?
Google+ Pages are a great way to connect with your customers and a new and growing audience on
Google+. The Google+ Page it will also be the center of their +1 and social activity on Google, and across
the web for websites, search results and ads.
What are the differences between Google+ Pages and Google+ Profiles?
Pages are extremely similar to profiles, but they have some key differences:
• Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1712831
• Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
• Pages can have multiple administrators
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2380625
• The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public
• Pages have the +1 button http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713817
• Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web
• Pages can’t play games
• Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1302427
• Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
• Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713911
Which are the languages supported in Google+ Pages?
Google+ is currently available in 44 languages, on Google.com. A list of these languages can be found in
our help center http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1044955
What type of things can I create and share on my Google+ Page?
Posts can range from simple text posts, photos, and links to websites that may interest your audience, to
live Hangouts, moving GIF images and more.
Can I use Circles to target my posts?
Absolutely, we think this will be very powerful for your brand, and are excited for the ways brands can
segment their audiences and communicate with them. For example, you could create a Circle containing
people who are your most loyal customers and offer them a special discount.
What is a hangout?
A hangout is multi-person video chat done directly in your browser through Google+
How do I start a hangout?
In your Google+ stream, you can create a hangout with the button on the right hand side of the page, invite
people or circles and launch it
Can I send messages to individual followers?
Yes you can share a post with an individual, provided they added you to their circles.
Can I link my AdWords campaigns to a plus page?
Yes, with a Page you can connect all your ads in a given campaign to that Page. All the +1 activity from
either of those places will accrue together and be reflected in either place. For more information visit the
AdWords Help Center http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1645035
Can I use Google+ in my add text?
Yes, but you must use one of our two recommended calls to action in the ad: "Find us on Google+" or
"Circle us on Google+"
Can I use Google+ Pages as my business’s landing page?
Yes, you can use a Google+ Page as a destination URL for your AdWords ads.
Can I target Google+ users based on demographics / interests / Circles?
No, we don’t offer this type of targeting at this time
How do I get my Google+ Page +1’s to link to my website and ad campaigns?
To connect your Google+ Page to your AdWords campaigns, take the URL of your Page and paste it into a
setting in the AdWords campaigns of your choosing.
To connect your Google+ Page with your website, you can use rel=publisher or request verification from
your Google Representative. For more information, visit the Webmaster Tools Help Center
http://support.google.com/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1708844
Since the business must create the Google+ page from their personal profile, will
this profile be shown as the creator of the page or will it be invisible?
The profile of the creator of a Google Plus Page will not be seen by visitors/followers of a Google +Page.
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
What features work on the mobile app?
Users can read and add comments on your posts, as well as view the about tab of your page. At this time,
you cannot post as a Page via mobile.
Set-up
How does a business create a Page?
The business will login to their personal Google+ account and navigate to the right side of their Google+
stream and click on the “create a page” dialogue
Can a business sign up for a Page if they don’t have a Google+ account?
All Google+ pages must be associated with a Google account. Therefore, if the business/owner does not
have a Google account, you may need to help the business create one first.
How does the category choice influence the Google+ Page?
We may use this information later for Page categorization and easier discovery. If your client is a local
business and you wish to display a map on the +Page, then it is important that you create your page by
selecting the category ‘Local Business or Place’
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713911&topic=1710599&ctx=topic
How do I change my business profile photo?
When you are logged in as the page identity you navigate to your profile, click edit to go into the profile
editor. Once in the profile editor, there will be a link under your current profile picture to help you change
the pic.
What image sizes are available for my logo?
The image must be larger than 200 x 200 pixels
Promotion
Do I want to get more +1s or people adding me to their Circles? What is the
difference?
You want both! +1 is a gesture from someone that indicates they love or agree with what you have
posted. When someone adds you to their circles, they are saying that they are interested in regular
updates of your content in Google+ and that will be your cue to post information to them.
How can I get more +1s?
Put the +1 button on your website and also connect your Google+ Page to your AdWords campaigns. By
doing this you will have more places to acquire +1s and those +1s will accumulate across each place they
serve. Visit the help center for more information.
http://support.google.com/plus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=1713819
How can I get more people to add me to their Circle?
Creating interesting content will get people interested and will lead them to add you to their circles. Check
the following link for ideas on how to keep the content on your page fresh and interesting to gain more
followers: http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/tenways_tobuild_yourcommunity_ongoogleplus.pdf
Can I invite people to Google+ from my Google+ Page?
Google+ is in open access, so people don’t need invitations to join. However, you can still invite people
who aren't on Google+ to join Google+, if you’d like to personally invite specific people.
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Can I invite people to +1/circle my Google+ Page?
Yes, you can invite people on Google+, invite people to join Google+ and you can promote your page on
your website with the Google+ Icon.
How can people find my Google+ Page?
People can find your Page via search, via one of your posts re-shared by a friend, or via the Google+ icon
on your site.
Can I invite people from my personal account to follow my Google+ Page?
Yes, you definitely can promote your Google+ Page from your personal profile, by adding it as a link on
your About tab, or by posting it to your circles.
Can I friend or invite all customers and CRM lists?
Once people find your page, they must add it to their circles before you can share content with them. You
can invite them to add you by sharing a link on Google+ or emailing them directly.
How should I generate an audience if there are no advertising opportunities?
You can use the power of Google Search and Google Display Network to promote your page. Also you
can connect the +1 button on your site with your Google+ Page, increasing the reach and customizing the
share experience into Google+.
Can I use my Google+ Page URL as a Site link?
Yes
Analytics
What can I find out about the people who are following my Google+ Page?
At launch, you will be able to learn about how your posts are shared using Ripples. Simply click the
dropdown arrow at the corner of one of your posts and click view Ripples.
What reporting will I get for my Google+ Page?
We plan to add more robust reporting for Page in the near future.
How do I link my Google+ Page to my Google Analytics account?
This is not available at launch, but we hope to have it available soon.
Learning and Teaching Resources
Search the Google+ Help Center to find answers to your specific questions about Google+.
http://support.google.com/plus/?hl=en
Visit google.com/+/business/ for additional information about Google+ for businesses.
(http://www.google.com/+/business/)
Check out the Getting Started Guide for a quick introduction to +Pages.
(http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.com/en/us/%2B/busines
s/google-plus-your-business.pdf)
Lookover 10 Ten Ways to Engage Your Audience on Google+
(http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/tenways_tobuild_yourcommunity_ongoogleplus.pdf)
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Add the Google+ Your Business +Page to your Circles to stay up to date with the latest information on
Google+ Pages or drop by for a hangout, read tips, and let us know what’s working well and what we can
make better. (https://plus.google.com/115200251016762857369/posts)
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Appendix A – LETTER TO BUSINESSES
OR NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Hello!
You
are
receiving
this
letter
because
a
student
team
has
selected
you
to
participate
in
the
Google
Online
Marketing
Challenge,
a
global
student
competition
developed
by
professors
from
across
the
globe
in
collaboration
with
Google.
The
students
who
gave
you
this
letter
would
like
to
help
your
organization
by
developing
a
free
online
marketing
campaign,
using
Google
AdWords
and
online
marketing
principles,
to
improve
and
drive
traffic
to
your
website.
What
is
in
it
for
your
organization?
This
is
an
excellent
opportunity
for
you
to
receive
US$250
of
Google
AdWords
online
advertising
free,
while
hard-‐
working
students
analyze
your
organization’s
online
marketing.
You
can
also
get
your
business
in
to
the
social
media
by
working
with
the
students
to
create
a
Google+
Page
for
your
organization.
If
you
are
a
non-‐profit
organization,
you
have
a
chance
to
win
up
to
US$
15,000
if
your
student
team
makes
it
to
the
top
three
teams
globally.
The
teams
will
be
evaluated
on
campaign
effectiveness
as
well
as
the
impact
made
for
the
non-‐profit
organization.
How
does
it
work?
There
is
no
cost
to
you.
The
students
will
receive
US$250
of
free
Google
AdWords
advertising
and
then
work
with
you
to
devise
an
effective
online
marketing
campaign.
They
will
evaluate
your
current
online
marketing,
outline
a
strategy,
run
a
three
week
advertising
campaign,
assess
the
results
and
then
provide
you
with
recommendations
to
further
develop
your
online
marketing.
The
students
can
also
work
with
you
to
create
or
maintain
a
Google+
Page
for
a
six-‐week
period
during
the
challenge.
Although
students
might
suggest
ways
to
enhance
your
website,
students
will
not
control
or
alter
your
website
in
any
way.
Your
student
team
will,
however,
use
Google
AdWords
to
drive
traffic
to
your
website.
What
do
you
need
to
do?
First,
you
will
need
to
agree
with
the
students
that
you
want
to
participate.
Then,
at
a
convenient
time,
meet
with
your
student
team
to
explain
what
your
organization
does
and
what
you
want
to
achieve
from
online
marketing.
Ideally,
you
will
take
an
active
interest
in
the
campaign,
such
as
providing
feedback
on
the
proposed
campaign
strategy,
interim
campaign
results
and
campaign
changes.
The
students
do
all
the
work
but
the
more
you
help
them,
the
more
you
gain
through
a
successful
campaign.
To
find
out
more
about
Google
AdWords
simply
talk
to
your
student
team
or
visit
www.google.com/adwords.
What
happens
after
the
campaign
ends?
Once
the
campaign
is
over
you
are
under
no
obligation
whatsoever
to
continue
with
AdWords
or
Google+.
You
can
pause
your
AdWords
campaign
and
delete
the
Google+
Page.
For
non-‐profit
organizations
that
would
like
to
benefit
from
Google
tools
(including
free
AdWords
in
select
countries)
please
visit
www.google.com/nonprofits
to
explore
free
tools
and
apply
to
be
an
approved
Google
nonprofit.
For
more
information
on
the
Google
Online
Marketing
Challenge,
please
visit
www.google.com/onlinechallenge.
Regards,
The
Google
Team
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
Appendix B – CAMPAIGN STATISTICS
Important: Although there are many ad formats available to AdWords advertisers, this competition
evaluates ONLY text ads. Most of your focus should be on the Search Network, however some teams in
the past have spent some of their money on the Display Network. Display Network clicks are factored into
the algorithm, but targeting Display is completely optional.
A key competition goal is to create a campaign that suits your business. Work towards what suits your
business and not towards the algorithm. There is no 'ideal' account or campaign. Different businesses
have different goals and goods/services, which your account should reflect. What works for one business
may not work for another.
To succeed in the Campaign Statistics your team should do well across the following five areas.
1. Account Structure
2. Optimization Techniques
3. Account Activity and Reporting
4. Performance and Budget
5. Relevance
1. Account Structure
Structuring your account is crucial to effective advertising. A poor account structure harms your Campaign
Statistics. Characteristics of an excellent, good, and poor account structure follow.
An Excellent account structure mirrors your client’s website structure when possible. Your campaign(s)
should be grouped according to product lines/themes or geography, and contain multiple Ad Groups
specific to relevant subcategories. For example, a campaign for 'accessories' could have separate Ad
Groups for 'bags' and 'belts'. Each Ad Group would then contain ad texts/variations specific to these
subsections and a targeted and specific keyword list.
A Good/Fair account structure also groups campaigns according to product lines and themes and contains
Ad Groups with relevant ad texts/variations and keywords. The key difference between good and excellent
structure is the granularity of the campaign structure. The more specific and granular, the more relevant
and specific your advertising becomes.
A Poor account structure has a general campaign or single Ad Group containing many different themes,
not structured according to product range or geography. Poor campaigns usually contain a long list of
unorganized and mismatched keywords. For example, to advertise a clothing store we would not
recommend just one campaign and Ad Group containing only one list of keywords such as ‘men’s pants’,
'ladies’ bags' and 'belts'. These separate product ranges would work better in their own Ad Groups, e.g. a
‘Garments’ Ad Group and ‘accessories' Ad Group.
2. Optimization Techniques
We will monitor how well you implement the suggested optimization techniques and best practices. In
particular, we will monitor which of these techniques you implemented (e.g. keyword matching options) and
how you optimized the Google Search and Display network to your advantage.
3. Account Activity and Reporting
Online advertising is dynamic and success typically depends on testing and improving your campaigns
over time. You should review and change your approach over time in response to how well the campaigns
perform. The judging algorithm will take into account what changes you make throughout the three-week
competition.
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
4. Performance and Budget
We will monitor how effectively you use your budget across your keywords throughout the competition.
Please be aware that, in order to maximize your budget you may need to edit the cost-per-click of
individual keywords. Maximizing your budget involves a combination of bid and campaign budget
management. Remember that campaigns have to serve impressions on at least 7 days, and no more than
25 days.
5. Relevance
Achieving a strong click-through rate is a key measure of how relevant your ads are and we will consider
your click-through-rate when judging your account. To create relevant and effective advertising often
means revisiting your campaigns and tweaking where necessary.
AdWords ad placement relies on an auction that weights bids with effective and relevant ads. Ad Rank
Score is calculated based on the Bid values and the Quality Score. Quality scores are recalculated every
time a user searches on Google, and considers factors such as click through rate, ad relevancy, and
landing page quality. Achieving high quality scores are key to a cost-effective campaign that performs well.
This article explains quality score and how it is calculated:
http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=10215
Appendix C – WRITTEN REPORTS
Contents
Please find details of the following reports:
1. The Pre-Campaign Report
2. The Post-Campaign Reports
3. The Impact Statement
4. The Social Media Strategy
5. The Social Media Execution Write Ups
1. Pre-Campaign Report (Judged on a total of 30 points)
The Pre-Campaign Report has two components –
• Client Overview (12 points) that describes your client business
• Proposed AdWords Strategy (13 points) that helps your team craft and defend your draft
AdWords Strategy.
• Communication and Readability (5 points)
Ideally, students should gather input from their clients in developing the Pre-Campaign Report.
Client Overview (12 points, about two pages)
As a foundation for the proposed AdWords Strategy, this section should provide a brief overview of the
client and it’s marketing.
• Client profile (2 points):
o Name, Location
o Number of employees
o Goods and services offered
o Key online marketing personnel
o Age of the company
o URL
o Website Age
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GoogleOnlineMarketingChallenge
o Website Management
o Social media such as Google+
o Company presence and sales via online and offline channels
o Other relevant information
Please note that clients may not want to share some information, which you may note.
• Market analysis (4 points)
o Current and potential customers
o Current and potential competitors
o Overview of the industry (key characteristics, competitive/saturated/mature)
o Projected and historical online spend for the industry
o Market position/specialties
o Unique selling points of the goods/services offered
o Seasonality of their goods/services or seasonality that the company has identified
o Other relevant market information
• Current marketing (4 points)
o Website uses, e.g. sales, customer service,
o Website strengths and weaknesses,
o Website visibility, such as Google PageRank, incoming links, a few keyword search
results,
o If available, summary information from Google Analytics or other third party web tracking
software
o Other online advertising and offline promotion of the url
• Conclusion on how the AdWords campaign aligns with the client's business (2 points)
Proposed AdWords Strategy (13 points, about two pages including sample AdWords ads and keywords)
Based on an analysis of the client, its website and marketing, each team should craft an appropriate
AdWords Strategy and metrics for their campaign. The proposed strategy should include:
• Number of Ad Groups and the focus for each Ad Group
• Keywords and negative keywords
• Text for at least two AdWords versions for an ad group
• Daily and weekly plans for spending their campaign budget
• Network(s) for their AdWords ads
• Target audience settings
• Ad serving options
• Keyword bidding
• Geo-targeting
• Goals for impressions, clicks, CPC and CTR
• Proposed success metrics
• Other relevant information.
Communication and Readability (5 points)
The Pre-Campaign Report should have a logical flow, be easy to follow, and avoid grammatical mistakes.
2. Post-Campaign Report (Judged on a total of 70 points)
The Post-Campaign Report has five components:
o Executive Summary (8 points)
o Industry Component (28 points)
o Learning Component (14 points)
o Communication and Readability (10 points)
o Relevant use of Tables, Figures and Charts (10 points).
Executive Summary (8 points, one page)
This stand-alone document provides your client with a project snapshot and highlights four key areas:
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● Campaign Overview - a basic review of the project by introducing the campaign goals and
operational details.
● Key results - the overall campaign performance as well as each ad group’s performance. You
should reference each group as well as the overall campaign. This section should provide a brief
overview of key metrics.
● Conclusion - a clear synthesis of the report content and key items. This is your chance to tie
together the entire package and focus the client's attention on important project aspects.
● Future Online Marketing Recommendations - simple, actionable and well-justified advice on what
your client’s future online marketing, particularly in relation to AdWords, the website and social
media.
Develop the Executive Summary after you generate all other content, as the Executive Summary
summarizes and overlaps with your Industry Component content.
Industry Component (28 points, maximum five pages)
This is the team's chance to share the results with their client and expand upon the Executive Summary.
As a rule, you should include most if not all of your Charts, Tables and Figures in your Industry Component
and cover the following areas:
1. Campaign overview:
• Review the major campaign goals (strategic goals as well as metrics: CTR, CPC, Impressions, etc.)
set prior to the project and discuss your general strategies for approaching each goal.
• Operational details (campaign dates, money spent, ad groups used): Review the basic schedule and
cost structure you followed, your methods for monitoring the account, etc.
2. Evolution of Your Campaign Strategy:
• What were the major changes you made during the campaign and what led to these changes?
• How did these changes affect your campaign?
3. Key Results - Summarize your results based on three weeks of data, such as:
• Overall performance of the campaign and individual ad groups
• Performance of the initial campaign and changes in performance following your optimization efforts
• Keyword combinations that were effective and ineffective
• Your success stories and quick, but clear references to your failures
• When discussing performance, refer to metrics such as impressions, clicks, click through rate,
average cost per keyword, total campaign cost and relevant metrics provided by the client, such as
conversions.
4. Conclusions - Synthesize the Industry Component, tie together the entire package and focus your
client's attention on the key project aspects. Take this opportunity to repackage information from the
data section to display your practical lessons learned with the client. The goal is to develop a great
transition that summarizes the critical results and starts to link these results to the future
recommendations in the next section.
5. Future Recommendations - Provide simple, actionable and well-justified advice on your client’s future
online marketing, particularly in relation to AdWords and the website.
Learning Component (14 points, maximum two pages)
The teams' reflection on what they learned should cover four points:
1. Learning objectives and outcomes - what did the team hope to learn? How well did you as a team
meet your learning expectations and the Challenge learning objectives (listed in the FAQ)? What else
did you learn? What key outcome as will the team remember? What were the expected and
unexpected outcomes from participating in the Challenge?
2. Group dynamics - what challenges did your team encounter and as importantly, how did you
overcome these challenges? What were some expected and unexpected outcomes from working as a
group?
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3. Client dynamics - what problems did your team encounter from working with the client and as
importantly, how did you overcome these problems? What were some expected and unexpected
outcomes from working with the client?
4. Future recommendations - what would you do differently in the future to improve your campaign
strategy, learning experience, group dynamics and client dynamics?
Communication and Readability (10 points)
The Post-Campaign Report should have a logical flow, be easy to follow and avoid grammatical mistakes.
Charts, Tables and Figures (10 points)
Teams should intersperse relevant charts, tables, figures in the report to illustrate their results. In addition,
teams should label and refer to the charts, tables and figures in the body of the report. Appendices are not
permitted. Charts, Tables and Figures count towards the total number of pages.
3. Impact Statement
If your team chose a non-profit organization, you can be eligible for Social Impact Award if you submit an
Impact statement along with the Post-Campaign Report. The impact statement should consist of
verification information and answer the five questions below:
• Nonprofit Verification Information:
o Official name, website address, physical address and contact person.
• Impact statement
a. How is the non-profit making a social impact?
b. How did you design the AdWords campaign to meet the non-profit’s goals?
c. Summarize the campaign results in 100 words or less.
d. Explain how the AdWords campaign impacted the non-profit’s mission?
e. Would you advise the nonprofit to continue with AdWords or change any aspects of their AdWords
campaign in the future to accomplish their goals better?
4. Social Media Strategy write up
The write up should be a maximum of two pages including tables and figures, should cover the following.
• Rationale for incorporating a Google+ page into the client’s online marketing
• Proposed integration into the client’s online marketing such as Google AdWords, the client’s website,
email, other social media, etc.
• Proposed tactics for achieving the above
• Proposed success metrics for achieving the above
• Proposed maintenance plan for the G+ page
• Proposed Return on Investment, including labor costs, for the G+ page
• Each of the above six items is worth three points, plus two points for communication and readability
equals 20 points.
5. Social Media Execution write up
The write up should be a maximum of two pages and should include:
• Campaign overview, including goals and operational details
• Key results
• Conclusion
• Future recommendations for the client’s G+ presence
• Future recommendations for G+
• Each of the above five items is worth five points, plus five points for communication and readability
equals 30 points.
Formatting Requirements
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All reports and write ups should use the following formatting: 12-point Times font, 2.54cm page margins,
A4 paper, left-justification, 1.5 line spacing. A4 paper is a standard paper size, in the 'Page Layout' section
of most word processing programs.
Reports that exceed the page limit or ignore the formatting guidelines will be disqualified. Do not include
cover pages, Title Pages, or Table of Contents with your reports. Similarly, do not include information that
shows your team members' names or institutional affiliation (e.g., college, university).
Report Length and Language Options
● Pre-Campaign Report can be a maximum of four pages
● Post-Campaign Report can be a maximum eight pages
● Impact statement can be a maximum of two pages
● Social Media Strategy write up can be a maximum of two pages
● Social Media Execution write up can be a maximum of two pages
Reports can be submitted in any one of these 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, German,
Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Czech and Hindi.
For sample reports, see the GOMC website at www.google.com/onlinechallenge/judging.html
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