Matthew Umbro

Articles by: 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.

Email Matthew.

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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Using Audiences in Google Search Campaigns

October 25, 2019 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads announced this month two new enhancements for search campaigns: affinity audiences and in-market audiences for seasonal events. The release follows Google’s push for advertisers to layer audiences on their search campaigns.
Google Ads
Do Responsive Search Ads Improve Performance?

October 1, 2019 • Matthew Umbro

The principal benefit of responsive search ads is efficiency. Advertisers can input many messages, and the platform (Google or Bing) will find the winning combinations. The drawbacks are a loss of control and transparency.
Google Ads
Understanding Google Ads’ New Conversion Action Sets

September 2, 2019 • Matthew Umbro

Google Ads' advertisers use conversion tracking for keywords and ad copy. A "conversion" could be a sale or a visitor filling out the contact-us form. Conversion action sets allow advertisers to establish conversion priorities and optimize accordingly.
Google Ads
Using Google AdWords Countdown Script, for Urgency

May 27, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

One of the most powerful messages in advertising copy involves playing to your consumers’ sense of urgency. This notion is portrayed with terms such as “limited time offer” or “one-day ...
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The New Google Shopping: What Merchants Need to Know

April 21, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

Last October, Google AdWords released Shopping campaigns, a new format and the next iteration of Product Listing Ad management. In early April, AdWords announced that all merchants will need to ...
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Demystifying Google AdWords Keyword Variants

March 27, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

Within the settings of every Google AdWords Search Network campaign is a feature designed to make advertisers’ lives simpler. But since its inception, it has caused more angst than ease.
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AdWords: Understanding Flexible Conversion Tracking

March 4, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

Over the last month, Google AdWords has made a significant update to how conversions are tracked and attributed. Flexible conversion tracking represents Google’s ongoing effort to provide the most accurate ...
Google Ads
Pay-per-click Ads: Importance of Bid Modifiers

January 28, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

Many online marketers have debated the pros and cons of Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns over the last year, but one feature has proven its worth: bid modifiers. Bid modifiers act ...
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3 Tactics to Reassess Paid Search in 2014

January 3, 2014 • Matthew Umbro

In many ways, 2013 was a transition year for paid search. We saw the launch of AdWords Enhanced Campaigns, to more precisely target searcher intent. We also saw the next ...
Google Ads
Using AdWords’ Cost-per-acquisition Flexible Bidding

December 5, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

In May, Google began offering flexible pay-per-click bidding strategies, which allow advertisers to automate bids based upon different goals. For example, advertisers can now target a specific cost per acquisition ...
Google Ads
5 Tips for Google’s Enhanced Campaigns

October 24, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

Google AdWords Enhanced Campaigns have been mandatory for all advertisers since July 23. But they have been in use since the end of February. During this time, my team and ...
Google Ads
Dynamic Search Ads Complement Pay-per-click Efforts

October 1, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

Google’s Dynamic Search Ads allow pay-per-click advertisers to show text ads based on relevant queries that are not otherwise in an ad campaign. It’s been nearly two years since Google ...
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5 Pay-per-click Filters to Avoid Drowning in Data

September 3, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

The amount of data available to pay-per-click advertisers can seem overwhelming. Advertisers have to find the optimizations that will make the most impact, as many won’t move the needle one ...
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5 Pay-per-click Holiday Tasks to Do Now

August 6, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

The beginning of the holiday season is right around the corner. It is often the busiest and most profitable period of the year for ecommerce merchants. Now is the time to plan your holiday pay-per-click advertising campaigns. There are many pay-per-click initiatives that merchants can...
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4 Lessons from Google’s Dynamic Remarketing Ads

July 9, 2013 • Matthew Umbro

Google recently announced the launch of a sophisticated new ad feature called Dynamic Remarketing. It works much the same as general remarketing, but the ad units showcase products that visitors viewed. If a shopper came to your site and viewed, say, a specific running shoe, you can in...