This morning during his keynote at SMX Advanced, Kevin Johnson, President, Microsoft Platform & Services Division, mentioned a new adCenter tool we're piloting called the adCenter Desktop Beta. The adCenter Desktop Beta is a free tool that enables advertisers and agencies to bulk manage their adCenter accounts from a desktop application which can be uploaded to an adCenter account. This is the first time we've offered offline campaign management for adCenter customers.

With the adCenter Desktop you can:

  • Quickly navigate through multiple accounts
  • Copy and paste keywords, negative keywords, match types and bid amounts from the adCenter Add-in for Excel into the Desktop application
  • Bulk edit multiple items at once (bid prices, destination URLs, ad group targeting, etc.) —within or across groups of items
  • Create text ads
  • Scan campaigns for editorial issues before uploading to adCenter
  • Receive alerts on performance changes
  • Upload changes to the adCenter user interface instantly with one click
  • Save full-text Search results to a 'favorites' tab in adCenter desktop for future use

  

We developed adCenter Desktop in response to customer requests to have the ability to bulk manage their adCenter accounts quickly and easily with an offline tool. It also complements our other Paid Search offerings, including the adCenter Add-in for Excel tool we introduced last winter, by utilizing keyword research functionality to provide advertisers and agencies with maximum transparency into historical keyword performance in adCenter. And unlike other desktop management applications, adCenter Desktop includes the Creation Wizard, a tool that provides a step-by-step guide to create online advertising campaigns – from the selection of specific ad features to previewing the final ad copy. 

The adCenter Desktop is currently in beta. To be considered for participation in the adCenter Desktop pilot program, please fill out our interest form. When registering, be sure to click on "adCenter Desktop Beta" and "yes" to sharing your feedback with Microsoft.