How to Avoid AdWords Mistakes that Cost You Money

How to Avoid AdWords Mistakes that Cost You Money If your business is looking into online marketing, you’ll likely come across a system called AdWords. This Google platform is an excellent way to increase your business reach online and drive more traffic to your website. But it can also cost you a fortune, if you don’t know how to use it correctly. © Shutterstock.com | Ingvar BjorkThis guide will help you understand 1) what AdWords is and 2) why your business will benefit from it. You’ll learn 3) how to avoid major adwords mistakes and use it without spending a fortune.WHAT IS ADWORDS AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?If you are a small business and in charge of your own marketing, chances are you’ve heard of AdWords. Google’s online advertising platform is a popular service and if you’ve never heard of it or used it, its about time that you take a look.AdWords is essentially an online advertising platform, which allows you to display ads for your business using Google platforms. The system enables its users to advertise and gain visibility on Google’s search engine, together with various other Google websites and services. In addition, it will increase your visibility on partnering search engines and websites.AdWords is based on a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model. Thats as easy as it sounds: Every time someone clicks on your ad, Google will charge you a fee. Therefore, you don’t have to pay for advertising that doesn’t result in clicks. Instead, you pay only for advertising that has reached the customer. On the contrary, if you for example advertise in a newspaper, you will have to pay for the ad space, even if nobody visits your website or calls your number. Bummer!For various reasons, AdWords has changed the way businesses advertise online. It has become one of the key tools businesses can use to can gain more exposure online and increase their reach.WHY SHOULD YOU USE ADWORDS?If you’re still not sure whether or not AdWords could help your business, consider the following points and you may become more interested:Increase your business reach â€" the main reason why businesses use AdWords is to reach out to potential customers online. AdWords allows you to display advertisement all over the internet which significantly increases your business visibility.Measure advertisement performance â€" Starting a marketing campaign, you dont simply post your advertisement randomly in the internet. You have to measure the effectiveness of your advertisement, or you will end up paying money for nothing. Using AdWords’ simple PPC model, you will easily see how many people click your ads and continue to browse on your website to make a purchase.Find out more about your customer â€" AdWords can help you to learn more about your customers, because you will understand what kind of ads they find appealing. Once you know which ads they pay more attention to, you can use the data to improve the content on your site and tailor it to your customers needs.Venture out to other platforms AdWords displays your ads on different Google platforms. Therefore, you can further increase your business reach.Control your advertising costs â€" AdWords will only charge for the clicks, which means you only pay for the exposure you actually receive. That can be cheap, but it can also be expensive. However, the platform allows customisation, so you can run your campaign with a maximum cost per day.Moz’ research suggests that 75% of search results contain AdWords ad placements. That means your business can’t afford to lean back and watch competitors gain a competitive advantage using the platform. As the saying goes: Sometimes the only way to beat your competitors is to join them.AVOID THESE ADWORDS MISTAKES TO RUN A COST-EFFECTIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGNWhilst AdWords comes with a variety of benefits, unfortunately a number of businesses don’t always make the most out of it. Although the system can help you to cut down on advertising costs, it can leave you broke if you don’t know what you are doing.If you’re struggling to get your AdWords campaign started or if you feel your expenses are out of control, then you should consider the following tips. If you are just starting out with AdWords, these are the mistakes you should avoid, otherwise you might pay more than you should.Mist ake 1: Using inefficient keywordsFirst, you must learn how to use keywords. When it comes to online advertising and SEO, keywords play a crucial role. Unfortunately, the proper use of keywords seems to be a bit of a mystery. Consider the following tips, to improve your keyword use with AdWords.Take advantage of your USPThe keywords you use in your campaign should always reflect your companys unique selling proposition (USP). Remember, there’ll be hundreds of other companies competing for advertising space, so you need to highlight your strengths.Figure out what differentiates your business from your competition. You should ask questions such as:Why is my product or service superior to that of my competitors?What added value can my business offer to customers?Your answers to these questions will help you to run a more effective AdWords campaign. Ensure the keywords you use reflect the USP and your business strengths.Use negative keywordsAdWords states negative keywords “are a typ e of keyword that prevents your ad from being triggered by a certain word or phrase.” Using negative keywords might not sound like a good idea â€" these are the words that prevent your ad from showing up â€" but using them will save you money.As a result of using negative keywords, your ad will not be shown to people who are looking for something else, that is not a valuable match for your product or service. In essence, it stops the ‘wrong’ people clicking on your ads and costing you money.Lets say you are running an ad for guitar tutorials. You might use a keyword “guitar tutorials online”. Since your lessons come with a fee, you don’t want people who are looking for free tutorials to click on your ads. Therefore, you can run “free” as a negative keyword. This means your ad won’t show for any search using the word “free.”Dont use too many keywordsWhen businesses are starting out with AdWords, they tend to go crazy, listing tons of keywords relating to their b usiness. However, the golden rule is “less is more.”You can’t add all the keywords to your ad campaign and you need to exclude certain information. Simple ads often convey the most effective message and you should not try to cover all the bases at once.Group keywords correctlyFinally, you need to make sure to group your keywords in the correct way. A costly mistake first-timers make is to use the default grouping option: broad match. In fact, you have other ways to group your keywords and these are often a better use of your money. The keyword match options include:Broad match â€" your ad will appear when people search for any of your given keywords. For example, if you run an ad for “best ugg boots”, your ad can show for searches as wide as “ugg boots best”, “best ugg boots to buy” and “ugg boots for kids.”Phrase match â€" your ad appears only when people search for the keywords in the exact order. For instance, if you run an ad for the “best ugg boots”, t he ad will only show up when people type in “best ugg boots.” They can include other related keywords, but the keywords you used need to be in the exact order.Exact match â€" your ad will appear when people search for exactly the keywords you used. Therefore, for your “best ugg boots” ad, the ad will only pop up when people search for “best ugg boots” â€" nothing more, nothing less.Now, grouping all of your keywords with the default broad match means your ad will attract all kind of people. Since they could be looking for something totally different, they may not even want to buy anything, you might end up paying for clicks that are absolutely worthless. This doesn’t mean broad match is never useful, it just means that by default it can hurt your ads more than help them.Mistake 2: Paying for services that you dont needThe first rule of business finance is to understand where your money comes from and where it goes to. The same rule applies to AdWords and the following tips will help you understand when and what to pay for.Measure profit margins and conversion ratesFirst, you need to understand and measure your profit margins and conversion rates. You can calculate the appropriate profit margin for the ad campaign with the following formula:[(Revenue Per Click x Margin) x Clicks] â€" (Cost Per Clicks x clicks)Total CostNote that you can easily set up a conversion for inquiries and sales from the “Tools and Analysis” section at the AdWords platform.Dont pay for ad time that you don’t needAdWords campaigns are set to run on a 24/7 basis by default. However, having your ads available all around the clock might not be worth the additional cost.To understand the perfect time for your ads, you need to understand your customers. If you are targeting businesses, then running ads over the weekend might not be fruitful. On the other hand, if you are looking for customers for your Monday morning sessions, there’s not much chance of conversions Monday afternoon or Tuesdays.You can keep track of your ads performance from the “dimensions” section in the user interface. Check out when you receive the most conversions and consider limiting the visibility of your ad.Bid for the brandInstead of simply bidding for popular keywords, you should aim to bid for your brand name keywords as well. Brand bidding can improve your search engine rankings and provide more organic search results.Brand bids are typically cheaper than popular keyword bids. But at the same time, they can boost your conversion rate. A customer searching for your brand is already interested in what you have to offer. If instead of finding your business, they come across a competitor, you might lose out on an ‘easy’ sale.Don’t forget your quality scoresGoogle attaches a quality score to each ad. This score, ranging from 1 to 10, essentially tells whether the platform views your ads as high-quality or low-quality. The score is based on a number of factors. You c an find a more detailed explanation in this WordStream post.Basically, what you need to understand is the higher the quality the less you’ll be spending per click. The reason is that Google is placing low-quality ads much lower in the search results.Calculate your Lifetime Value (LTV)Finally, determine how much you want to spend on AdWords to acquire a single customer. Therefore, you have to calculate the Customer Lifetime Value. The calculation determines how much each customer spends on your products or services. Hence, you will know how much you should spend on ads per customer.For example, if your customer lifetime value is $50, you don’t want to spend $60 to attract the customer. You can read more about calculating the rate at Conversion XL.Turn off content networkFinally, the platform also uses content network advertising by default. This is a form of contextual advertising, which aims to place your ad on larger sites. But for a number of businesses, visibility on these pl atforms doesn’t result in conversion clicks, but rather in low-quality clicks. In the end, you might receive clicks, but not clicks that lead to conversion, which means you end up paying more for your advertising. Therefore, you don’t want to spend your money on it. Turn it off.Mistake 3: The content doesnt match with the adsAdWords is great when you have a real value proposition that you think will benefit your customer. On the other hand, it’s not a great tool if you only want to boost your company’s online presence. Simply put, don’t spend money on AdWords if you have nothing worth advertising. Consider the following tips:Focus on quality contentCreate quality ads with meaningful content. Hence, the keywords of your ad, together with taglines and images, should always be directly related to the product or service that your business offers.You should avoid misleading ads â€" never advertise for “free guitar lessons” if you are only offering saxophone lessons for a fe e! In addition, since you are competing against other ads, keep the USP in mind and make your ad stand out in the crowd. Copying what others are doing won’t help you catch customers’ attention.Drive customers to the proper landing pageYour ad will include a link to a location on your website, the so-called landing page, which is essentially the location where the person arrives when he/she clicks the ad or link. A typical mistake is to simply use your company’s homepage as the landing page. Remember, the customer clicks on the link in order to make a purchase or to learn more about the product, not to find himself trying to figure out where to go. Make it easy, lead the way.Lets say you are running an ad for “large family sofas.” You need to ensure the link takes the customer to a page where he can purchase large family sofas or learn more about these sofas. If the ad instead takes the customer to a furniture store homepage, they will simply close the window. Dont waste yo ur customers time, he wont appreciate it.Mistake 4: Expecting too much from AdWordsAdWords comes with a variety of benefits, so you shouldn’t expect it to quadruple your sales overnight. AdWords is just one of many advertisement channels and your business won’t be the only one using it.While AdWords is a relatively cheap way to advertise your business, it isn’t free. If you have a limited budget, you need to make sure you don’t make costly mistakes, and you need to understand the limits of your campaign. You will be competing against other companies, often for the same keywords, and large corporations will naturally have more to spend on their campaigns.AdWords won’t start creating results overnight. In fact, it can take some time to build up your AdWords profile until you start to receive the results you need. If you don’t have patience, you’re better off putting your advertising money somewhere else.Finally, use AdWords as an additional marketing tool. If you base yo ur marketing campaign solely on AdWords, you may not receive the results and exposure you want. Ensure AdWords is just part of your larger marketing effort.Mistake 5: Not testing and measuring your AdWords useFinally, you should remember to measure your performance with AdWords to ensure that your operations are cost effective. AdWords has made it easy to measure the success of your ads and you can use this information in order to calculate your return of investment (ROI).The key statistics you should be aware of include:Quality score. As mentioned earlier, the quality score determines the ad’s rank and your costs.Click through rate. The metric showcases how often people click on the ad. A high CTR (1% or higher) means the ad is relevant and people often click on it. A low CTR (anything below 1%) shows your ad isn’t attracting enough people to be worth it.Conversion rate. This metric shows the number of times people click on your ad and follow up with concrete action, for exampl e a sale or a sign-up. Your goal is a high conversion rate to ensure people aren’t simply clicking the ad for nothing.Use different keywords, ad positions and even times to test which ads lead to better results in the above categories. If a keyword is not working, i.e. resulting in conversions or clicks, you don’t want to continue wasting money on it.It is often a good idea to run two similar ad campaigns with different keywords, but for the same product. This helps you to determine which ad attracts more traffic to your site.Is AdWords the right thing for you? Review the relevant points and if you are interested, give it a try.Find out more watching the YouTube videos below:

Hermaphrodites, or What We Call in Modern Times, Intersexuals

Hermaphrodites, or what we call in the modern times: intersexuals, are misunderstood throughout the entire world. Often times when we hear the word intersexuals or hermaphrodites we automatically have a negative connotation towards them. However, what most people do not realize is that hermaphroditism is in fact very common for quite a long period of time. Records were dated back to even the time when Plato was alive. However, the idea, or the actual concept of a third gender has only become less and less accepting the last one to two centuries. These individuals biologically have sexual characteristics intermediate of those typically male or female seems to medical progressives as a glitch of nature needing for regulating surgery and†¦show more content†¦While in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Dr. Hugh H Young of Johns Hopkins University, the father of the medical studies for hermaphroditism and the author of the book â€Å"Genital Abnormalities, Hermaphroditism and relat ed Adrenal Diseases†, explored numerous people who were intersexuals and discovered that the majority of them were content with their lives, and did not develop any psychological problems or scars. A notable case would be a woman named Emma who had grown up as a female with a vagina and a penis-sized clitoris. As a teenager, Emma would have sexual intercourses with other women but eventually she married a man. Although she had a husband, there had not been too many sexual activities therefore Emma would have other girlfriends on the side to fulfill her pleasures. As an embryo, we are created with both ovaries and testes. As we grow, either the ovaries or testes will begin to develop further while the other will begin to degenerate (Fausto-Sterling, 2000). However, often times the one that degenerates does not diminish the entire way, therefore making them ambiguous genitalia. Our medical community destroys our perception of hermaphrodites by telling us that hermaphroditism is very uncommon and should be treated as soon as birth because the victims would be psychologically damaged from bullying and being different (ISNA, 2001). In reality, there has been noShow MoreRelatedEssay on Intervening Surgical Intervention1537 Words   |  7 PagesBetween the Sexes is a compelling narrative. Through several anecdotes, it illustrates the devastating psychological implications of early surgical intervention on intersexuals. According to the article, the surgery robs individuals of their sexual gratification, their gender identity, and their innocence. I ts argument is noble, yet flawed. Authors Christine Gorman and Wendy Cole spin several sad yarns of intersexed people who are upset with handling of their gender assignment. They tell horrorRead MoreHistory of Transgender9448 Words   |  38 PagesA time-line of transgender identities.  © 1999 Drs. Arianne van der Ven Contents Summery 2 Introduction: The development of gender as we know it How does history relate to us? 3 From a one-gender system to a two-gender system, and on to ‘third sex’ categories. 3 Some specifics of gender transitions. 5 Part I: Sexology begins. Transgender Identities before the 19th century 7 The early 19th century: Enters forensic psychiatry 7 The

How Dangerous Is Atrazine

Atrazine is an agricultural herbicide that is widely used by farmers to control broadleaf weeds and grasses that interfere with the growth of corn, sorghum, sugar cane, and other crops. Atrazine is also used as a weed killer on golf courses as well as a variety of commercial and residential lawns. Atrazine, which is produced by the Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta, was first registered for use in the United States in 1959. The herbicide has been banned in the European Union since 2004—individual countries in Europe banned Atrazine as early as 1991—but 80 million pounds of the stuff is used each year in the United States - it is now the second most used herbicide in the US after glyphosate (Roundup). Atrazine Threatens Amphibians Atrazine may protect crops and lawns from certain types of weeds, but it is a real problem for other species. The chemical is a potent endocrine disruptor that causes immunosuppression, hermaphroditism and even complete sex reversal in male frogs at concentrations as low as 2.5 parts per billion (ppb)—well below the 3.0 ppb that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says is safe. This problem is particularly acute because amphibian populations worldwide have been declining at such unprecedented rates that, today, nearly one-third of the worlds amphibian species are threatened with extinction (though in large due to the chytrid fungus). In addition, atrazine has been linked to reproductive defects in fish and prostate and breast cancer in laboratory rodents. Epidemiological studies also suggest that atrazine is a human carcinogen and leads to other human health issues. Atrazine Is a Growing Health Problem for Humans Researchers are finding an increasing number of links between atrazine and poor birth outcomes in humans. A 2009 study, for example, found a significant correlation between prenatal atrazine exposure (primarily from the drinking water consumed by pregnant women) and reduced body weight in newborns. Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of illness in infants and conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The public health issue is a growing concern because atrazine is also the most commonly detected pesticide in American groundwater. An extensive U.S. Geological Survey study found atrazine in approximately 75 percent of stream water and about 40 percent of groundwater samples in the agricultural areas tested. More recent data showed atrazine present in 80 percent of drinking water samples taken from 153 public water systems. Atrazine is not only widely present in the environment, but it is also unusually persistent. Fifteen years after France stopped using atrazine, the chemical can still be detected there. Every year, more than half a million pounds of atrazine drift off during spraying and falls back to Earth in rain and snow, eventually seeping into streams and groundwater and contributing to chemical water pollution. The EPA re-registered atrazine in 2006 and deemed it safe, saying that it posed no health risks for humans. The NRDC and other environmental organizations question that conclusion, pointing out that the EPAs inadequate monitoring systems and weak regulations have allowed atrazine levels in watersheds and drinking water to reach extremely high concentrations, which certainly puts public health in question and possibly at serious risk. In June 2016 the EPA released a draft ecological assessment of atrazine, which recognized negative consequences of the pesticide on aquatic communities, including their plant, fish, amphibian, and invertebrate populations. Additional concerns extend to terrestrial ecological communities. These findings concern the pesticide industry, of course, but also many farmers who rely on atrazine to control hardy weeds. Many Farmers Like Atrazine It’s easy to see why a lot of farmers like Atrazine. It’s relatively cheap, it doesn’t harm crops, it increases yields, and it saves them money. According to one study, farmers growing corn and using Atrazine over a 20-year period (1986-2005) saw average yields of 5.7 bushels more per acre, an increase of more than 5 percent. The same study found that Atrazine’s lower costs and higher yields added an estimated $25.74 per acre to farmers’ income in 2005, which added up to a total benefit to U.S. farmers of $1.39 billion. A different study by the EPA estimated the increased income for farmers at $28 per acre, for a total benefit of more than $1.5 billion to U.S. farmers. Banning Atrazine Would Not Hurt Farmers On the other hand, a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that if atrazine were banned in the United States, the drop in corn yields would be only about 1.19 percent, and the corn acreage would be reduced by only 2.35 percent. Dr. Frank Ackerman, an economist at Tufts University, concluded that estimates of higher corn losses were flawed due to problems in methodology. Ackerman found that despite a 1991 ban on atrazine in both Italy and Germany, neither country has recorded significant adverse economic effects. In his report, Ackerman wrote there was â€Å"no sign of yields dropping in Germany or Italy after 1991, relative to the U.S. yield—as would be the case if atrazine were essential. Far from showing any slowdown after 1991, both Italy and (especially) German show faster growth in harvested areas after banning atrazine than before.† Based on this analysis, Ackerman concluded that if â€Å"the yield impact is on the order of 1%, as USDA estimated, or close to zero, as suggested by the newer evidence discussed here, then the economic consequences [of phasing out atrazine] become minimal.† Conversely, the economic costs of continuing to use atrazine—both in water treatment and public health costs—could be significant when compared to the relatively small economic losses of banning the chemical. Edited by Frederic Beaudry.

Hum 176. Week 1 Mass Media Free Essays

University of Phoenix Material- Effects of Mass Media Worksheet Write brief 250-to 300-word answers to each of the following: |Questions |Answers | |What were the major developments in the |In the early/middle 20th century brought a mass of developments into the world. Some of | |evolution of mass media during the 20th |the extended communication lines begin to extend then with radios, televisions, | |century? newspapers. The late 20th century added other forms of media through internet, social | | |communication, and technology such as video games. We will write a custom essay sample on Hum 176. Week 1 Mass Media or any similar topic only for you Order Now Media was the forefront of culture and | | |brought people together. Media is a mixture of mass media and communication outlets. | | |Before mass communication, people wrote letters and sent them through mail to communicate. | |However since the evolution, there are new ways such as email, text messages, video | | |conferencing, chatting, etc. This century has adapted to the media conversion and it has | | |evolved into daily lifestyles. In the average workplace, new waves of technology have | | |begun to embark on the evolution by removing files, the use of paper, more recycling, and | | |using technology to its full potential. The average employer no longer requires paper | | |applications. More applications for employment can be done online, through smartphone | | |services with just one touch. Another major development streamed lined in the early 1900’s| | |with the authority of the printing press. As the invention successfully streamed, it | | |allowed the news press and local media to get more local news out effectively. Theatres | | |embraced the line of cinema. More movies also became famous as part of the century | | |entertainment. There were no longer more outside evening films. The films also gained | | |communication through the development of radio. Radio became the worldwide core to news, | | |entertainment, and the source that people could rely on. The radio started to be the hit | | |location for many artist to show their talents and for viewers to hear top hit songs. The | | |late 20th century brought on more collaboration of music through the internet, cell | | |phones, and applications downloads on the internet, and more. The major developments have | | |been a great asset to the country and will continue to be embraced by individuals. | |How did each development influence | | |American culture? | | How to cite Hum 176. Week 1 Mass Media, Essay examples

Otzi free essay sample

Scientist took a closer look at Otzi and found out that he had a umber of tattoos all over his body, and still had all of his internal organs. After that discovery people started to call the man Otzi the Iceman. Scientist did more lab tests and started to take x-rays and CAT scans. When they did the CAT scan they found an arrow head shaped object in Otzis back. They later discovered that there was an arrow head in Otzis back. The scientist defrosted Otzi for the first time. In the process of them defrosting him, the scientist started to try to get the arrow head out of Otzis back. With no time left the cut a hole in Otzis skin and discovered that they ouldnt cut through Otzis back tissue without doing any damage to Otzis body, so the scientist didnt want to take that risk so they couldnt get the arrow head out. We will write a custom essay sample on Otzi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Otzis body was stored in a customized, specially built freezer to keep him at the temperature they found him in. The investigators found Otzis clothes and other artifacts such as the, The Axe, The Dagger, The Retoucheur, The Bow, The Quiver and its Contents, The Arrows Backpack and the Net, are only some of his equipment found nearby Otzi. otzi By dawsonrice

Anna Morandi Manzolini essays

Anna Morandi Manzolini essays There have been many famous men and women scientists throughout the centuries. Although most of the time its men who get recognition, women scientists get their moment of glory as well. Previous women scientists have inspired many women scientists of today. In the 18th Century many women werent able to go to school and get the proper education that men did at the time. That didnt stop all women who wanted to learn, such as Anna Morandi Manzolini. Morandi went to school, studied, and later became famous as s physician. Many people admire Anna Manzolini because of her efforts to not quit and continue to reach for her goals in life. She never let anyone get in the way of her dreams. In 1716 Anna was born in Italy. Her mentor was her father whom she loved very dearly. Since she wasnt able to go to school like boys her own age, she had a small laboratory on her kitchen table that she would play with. When she became older and got married to Mr. Manzolini, they both went to the University of Bologna, Italy. Her main focus of her work was on human organs. Out of wax, she would make figures such as eyes, hands and almost anything that have to do with the human body. Both her and her husband were interested in this type of work. They would help and give lessons in their own house to surgeons and medical students on how to make wax figures. They both loved there work in human anatomy and the creation of wax figures, but it didnt last for one of them. When Manzonlini was 39 years old, her husband pasted away and she took over his position and became a faculty member at the University. Even though he died, she didnt stop working instead she continued what her and her h usband left behind. In 1761 Dr. Manzolini became the Chairperson of the Anatomical Modeling Department. While being the Chairperson, at the same time she made a wax portrait or her husband dissecting a heart. She a ...

An Introduction to the Chicago Manual of Style

An Introduction to the Chicago Manual of Style If you dont work in a field like professional academia, publishing, or research, style guides can read a little obsessive. Groups like the Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA) and University of Chicago publish thousands of rules on formatting, grammar, usage, and source acknowledgement for academic writing and publishing, and they get nitty-gritty. In a Chicago-style citation note, for instance, If a symbol rather than a number is used †¦ the symbol appears as a superscript in the text but not in the note, where it is not followed by a period but may be followed by a space, as long as this is done consistently (The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed., 14.24).But in certain fields, minutiae help. CollegeScholarships.org reports that in academic writing, how you present your information †¦ is often seen as [being as] important as the ideas you are putting forth. The genre has rigid attribution requirements and relies heavily on precision, clarity and consistency. A uniform style minimizes technical distractions, keeping the focus on the content.Broadly speaking, its not that uniform, because different academic genres use different style manuals. Generally, in the United States, APA reigns in the social sciences, MLA in undergraduate English and the arts, and CMS in literature and history.The Chicago Manual of Style began in 1891 as a one-page style sheet for typesetters at the University of Chicago Press. It has since grown to 1,000 pages. Here, some of the more commonly encountered and misunderstood rules in the book. (Note that our source for this review is the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.)CommasSerial commasEffective use of the comma involves good judgment, with the goal being ease of reading, according to the Chicago Manual of Style. To that end, Chicago style says Heck, yes! to the oft-debated serial (a.k.a. Oxford) comma, arguing it prevents confusion.DO use serial commas. The serial comma precedes the las t item in a list of three or more. The exception to the serial-comma rule is when the final and is replaced by an ampersand ().Her dad spreads butter, jelly, bananas, and honey on the bread.The day she overslept, spilled her coffee, and lost her keys, she was late for work.If I dont see any oranges, tangerines, or lemons, Ill go to the other store.Bed, Bath BeyondDO put a comma after a year or state. If you can remove it from the sentence without changing the meaning, it gets a second comma. Correct: On May 31, 2011, she graduated from a Santa Fe, New Mexico, college.DO put a comma after etc. or et al. (Dont italicize them, either.) Correct: Ill bring the forks, napkins, plates, etc., if you bring the food.DO NOT put a comma between two predicates. Correct: She ran to the store and picked up a carton of milk.ApostrophesApostrophes get confusing in their possessive roles when paired with a noun ending in s. In CMS style:The possessive form of singular noun gets an s, even if it ends in s. Correct: The passs elevationThe possessive form of a plural noun ending in s gets only an apostrophe. Correct: After the dogs naps, they played in the yard.Plural numbers and letters: Years and capital letters take only an s, while lowercase letters take an s Correct: By the early 1970s, bellbottoms were popular. Correct: She learned the ABCs at school. Correct: They were told to mind their ps and qs.QuotesIf youre putting the period to the right of the closing quotation marks, youre doing it wrong.Punctuating quotesCommas and periods go before the closing quotation marks. Correct: It was he, she said, pointing at the defendant. Correct: The opening line reads, Call me Ishmael.Colons and semicolons go after the closing quotation marks. Correct: He was upset when she said, I think we should stay home; he thought they should go out as planned.Question and exclamation marks go outside closing quotation marks unless theyre in the quote. Correct: Didnt you hear her say Lets go? Co rrect: She yelled, Oh no!Idioms and expressionsDO NOT put quotes around familiar expressions. Correct: It was time to learn about the birds and the bees. Correct: The robbery was just the tip of the iceberg.TitlesTitles of peopleCivil, military and professional titles are treated differently depending on their position relative to the persons name. Among Chicago styles rules:DO capitalize a title when it immediately precedes a personal name. Correct: I watched as Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts took the floor.†¦UNLESS its acting as a descriptive phrase: Correct: I watched as Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy took the floor.DO NOT capitalize a title when it follows a name. Correct: I watched as Ted Kennedy, senator from Massachusetts, took the floor.Titles of worksTitles of published works vary by type and length.Use italics for books and periodicals. Correct: She read The New York Times.Use quotation marks for book chapters, articles, other short works. Correct: In America n Home Cooking: A Popular History, Miller explores why Americans still cook.Capitalize titles in headline style. Headline styles instructions, which the Chicago Manual acknowledges are occasionally arbitrary, include:DO NOT capitalize articles (a, an, the)DO NOT capitalize common coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or)DO capitalize the first and last word, regardless of part of speech. Correct: Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela Correct: In Newsweeks How to Sleep: Ability to Dream May Be in the Genes, Aristos Georgiou argues for a genetic link.NumbersTreatment of numbers in text varies between style guides. CMS prefers:Spell out numbers one through one hundred. Correct: She ordered one hundred balloons and 101 party hats.Spell out numbers ending with hundred, thousand, etc. Correct: There were seven thousand seats for 6,999 students.DO NOT superscript ordinal numbers. Correct: Anne celebrated her 500th day at work. Incorrect: Anne celebrated her 500th day at work.For mattingInstructors and publications often have their own sets of formatting guidelines, so be sure to check those. If theyre following CMS:DO NOT put a period at the end of a caption consisting of one incomplete sentence. †¦ Unless most other captions in the manuscript are complete sentences, in which case you can punctuate the incomplete sentence for consistency.DO put a period at the end of an incomplete sentence if its followed by at least one complete sentence (which also gets a period).DO NOT use a double space after periods.DO NOT justify text. All text should be aligned flush left (ragged right).Citation system: Notes and bibliographyThe citation section is perhaps the most important part of a style guide. In academic research, authors are expected to follow citation rules to a tee. CMS has two different systems: name-date and notes-bibliography. Its best to check whether your instructor or publication has a preference.In the notes and bibliography system, you cite sourc es in footnotes or endnotes, which are denoted by superscripted numbers in the text, and also list them in a separate bibliography section. Entries in the bibliography are alphabetized, regardless of the order in which they first appear in the text. The following examples show proper formatting for typical book, journal and website entries. (Note: punctuation and spacing count.)BookNote1. Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995), 21.Subsequent note for same book13. Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 98-100.Bibliography (alphabetical)Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom. New York: Back Bay Books, 1995.Journal articleNote (specific page number)3. Tim Miller, American Home Cooking: A Popular History, Journal of American History 105, no. 1, (June 2018): 143.Subsequent note for same article4. Miller, American Home Cooking: A Popular History, 144.Bibliography (articles complete page range)Miller, Tim. American Home Cooking: A Popular History, Journal of American History 105, no. 1, (June 2018): 143–4.Online journal articleInclude a URL or database name for online journal articles in all entries except subsequent entries for the same source.Note3. Tim Miller, American Home Cooking: A Popular History, Journal of American History 105, no. 1 (June 2018): 143, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jay032.Subsequent note for same articleMiller, American Home Cooking: A Popular History, 144.BibliographyMiller, Tim. American Home Cooking: A Popular History, Journal of American History 105, no. 1 (June 2018): 143-4, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jay032.Website contentIn addition to the standard information, include the date of publication or revision; if neither of those is listed, include the date you accessed it online.Note8. Citation Quick Guide, Chicago Manual of Style Online, accessed March 26, 2018, https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.Subsequent note for same content9. Citation Quick Guide.BibliographyChicago Manual of Style Online. Citation Quick Guide. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.Citation System: Author-DateThe author-date system has only two components. There are no superscripted numbers in the text, footnotes or endnotes. Rather, full citations are collected in an alphabetized reference list, and in-text citations include the sources author, date and page range in parentheses.BookReference listMandela, Nelson. 1995. Long Walk to Freedom. New York: Back Bay Books.In-text citationMandela 1995, 98-100.Journal articleAs in the notes-bibliography system, in-text citations contain specific page numbers, while references show the whole page range for the article.Reference listMiller, Tim. 2018. American Home Cooking: A Popular History. Journal of American History 105, no. 1 (June): 143-4.In-text citation(Miller 2018, 143.)Online journal articleIf you accessed the article online, tack on a URL or database name. Reference list Miller, Tim. 2 018. American Home Cooking: A Popular History.Journal of American History 105, no. 1 (June): 143-4. https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jay032. In-text citation (Miller 2018, 143.)Website contentAs in the notes-and-bibliography system, the addition here is the date of publication, revision, or access.Reference listChicago Manual of Style Online. n.d. Citation Quick Guide. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.In-text citationCitation rules, as with most other rules in style guides, get far more in-depth than this and may come with multiple exceptions; when in doubt, check the unabridged manual. Its tough to follow every rule in the Chicago Manual, but no ones rejecting manuscripts on the grounds of inconsistent caption punctuation. If you have limited time, focus on citing your sources by the book.