Google is of course testing a new interface for AdWords, and to prepare users for an easy transition, Google is putting out the resources to ensure they’re up to speed. For one, the company’s Inside AdWords Blog has announced "New Interface Thursdays." Each Thursday, they will provide an in-depth look at new features, tips and tricks, product updates, announcements, etc.

Google announced today that in the coming months, they will be updating the AdWords conversion tracking metrics in the new AdWords interface, and other account management platforms like AdWords Editor and the AdWords API.

Amazon is ending the payment of referral fees to associates in North America using pay-per-click (PPC) to get traffic. This is effective beginning May 1st.

The change is not temporary. Amazon will not reinstate payment of referral fees to paid search associates. They say the decision to make the change is based on their review of how they invest their advertising resources.

Microsoft faces some pretty tough competition in the pay-per-click space. On the adCenter blog today, they have posted some reasons they think users (at least in the UK) would benefit more from adCenter than its "main competitor."

Google has conducted a study looking at how paid search affects TV viewing habits. The results are pretty interesting.

Adam Stewart, Google’s Industry Director for Media & Entertainment tells WebProNews that the research confirms that paid search is an effective way to build traffic for a network’s website and, as a result, increase viewership for content like online video.

Google launched limited beta testing of a new AdWords campaign management interface back in November. At first it was only available to a limited number of US advertisers. Now the company has expanded the testing to more US advertisers as well as advertisers in the UK and Australia.

Google has introduced a new feature for AdWords called "Make a Payment," which allows users to initiate a credit card payment for any amount they want, when it’s convenient for them. The feature allows for overpaying to cover future costs as well.

Different people have different ways of counting conversions, and options with which to do so can prove helpful for catering to the advertiser’s personal preferences. Microsoft has released a new package of conversion counting controls for adCenter.

Google is testing the inclusion of favicons in AdWords ads. Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable has the following screenshot:

Today Yahoo announced the addition of three new targeting options for Yahoo Search Marketing ads. They are demographic targeting, ad scheduling, and enhanced ZIP-level geo-targeting.

Yahoo Search Marketing is offering a plethora of keyword suggestion options for its advertisers. They say these keywords hold considerable search volume but typically fewer advertisers than others.

When dealing with Google AdWords campaigns, advertisers have several options for selecting keywords. PPC expert and Founder of ClickEquations Craig Danuloff talked with me about when to use each one, and provided some advice about getting the most out of your campaign on a limited budget.

Chris Crum: When should advertisers use Exact Match?

Even as we approach the end of 2008, click fraud is still something that needs to be dealt with in the search engine advertising industry. Google takes a number of precautions to keep it under control though.

Microsoft’s adCenter Desktop, currently in beta testing, is about to go public, said Jeremy Lamothe, Search Account Manager for Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Solutions at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Chicago.

(Coverage of SES Chicago continues at WebProNews Videos.  Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

Google has kicked off a series of videos for AdSense tips at the Inside AdSense blog. This is an effort to help publishers get the most out of their AdSense accounts. After all, the better publishers make out from the program, the better the program will continue to perform for Google right?

Google’s been offering some great AdWords tips lately. Specifically, they recently discussed the advantages of using the broad match option and the negative keyword option. Mike McDonald also spoke with Ken Jurina of Epiar about the negative keyword option in the following interview at PubCon.

As you may or may not know, Google AdWords gives you four options when it comes to keywords. If you apply the appropriate ones to your keywords, your potential for increased ROI is higher. The options you have are:

Many online advertisers continue to struggle with the decision to use either search engine advertising or display advertising. Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter and the like, or good old fashioned banner displays. Both offer valid reasons, and each outperforms the other in different areas.

Why Not Use Both?

Due to an increased show of interest from AdSense publishers in filtering ads, Arlene Lee of AdSense Publisher Support discussed a couple of tools at the Inside AdSense Blog.

Competitive Ad Filter

At the session "Reviving A Failed PPC Campaign" the speakers discussed how to turn around a failed paid search campaign.

(Coverage of the SMX East conference will continue at WebProNews Videos.  Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

Advertising clients who feed Google’s revenue machine may not always know the difference between an illicit click and one that’s outright fraudulent. Google wants them to understand which is which.