On the 16th December 2014 Google pulled their Google News service in Spain.

This was reported - albeit superficially - by the Spanish media in a way that seemed to suggest that this was somehow the callous corporate giant somehow snubbing the Spanish speaking world. That the arrogant Americans had "done it again"... but the truth is a little way from this interpretation.

What actually happened is that Spain shot itself in the foot. Big time. 

I got caught out again this morning. I hate it when that happens. I overlooked to change one of Google AdWords default settings.

On a client's new campaign the ads were set to "Optimize for clicks: Show ads expected to provide more clicks".... the campaign is a day old... How do you presume to know, Google??

So I changed the setting to Rotate Indefinitely and make a mental note to actually prepare that basic checklist of default settings I need to remember to change.... on every campaign I set up. EVER!

And this got me thinking - there are some default - out of the box - settings that simply go against Google's own best practices.

If there is one question that is always asked when speaking to a potential AdWords advertiser - it is this : How Much Should I Budget for This?

With traditional advertising things are clearer. Radio spots, and 20 seconds of TV space have a price. So do newspaper and magazine ads. They have a price and you know what you're buying... at least you think you do. You're buying a space in which to run your ad.

What you're not buying is any result. You hope to get a result. You expect to get a result. Experience tells you that you should get a result. But all you are actually buying is the space.

If the phone doesn't ring, that's a different problem - perhaps there was something wrong with the ad.

But with online advertising, and Google AdWords in particular, you are not paying for the space (in most cases - this actually isn't true of CPM bidding). Instead you are paying for the result - in this case a click through to your web page.

Recently I've read a few articles about just how poor the Google Display Network works for advertisers.

Many of the writers question whether it should be used at all.

And, as if this is not bad enough, Google are testing a paid version of the web experience where the ads are pixelated, so your senses needn't be assaulted and offended by their gaudy messages.

But, just perhaps, the GDN is an Ugly Duckling - just waiting to be recognised as the swan it really is.

Let's wander back in time... before the internet. You wanted to find a plumber, you went to the yellow pages, or the classified ads section of your local newspaper. Today we call that Google search.

But there were lot's of other things you bought that you didn't want. Or need. You saw them in magazines, or on TV or heard about them on the radio. Maybe someone left a flyer in your mailbox, or sent you a letter (remember those?). Today we call that Google Display Network.

Well, that's frustrating.

We have a client with whom we have been discussing RLSA - remarketing lists for search ads. For those who have not yet tried RLSA, we have found it very effective for some clients - being able to catch previous site visitors (people on our remarketing lists) if they initiate a new search on Google. Let's face it - we know they are, on the one hand, still in the market and on the other, presumably, given the fact that time has passed since their first visit, they are also more motivated to complete their conversion (purchase, sign up, contact request) than they were the first time around.

So we like RLSA.