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Google AdWords allow for nearly
instant traffic, which can be turned on and off. Traffic results can be
measured, providing information on what is successful, what isn't and what needs
to be changed. AdWords can be found that work by running a test campaign.
Benefits to AdWords
Advertisers bid on keywords,
the more an advertiser is willing to pay the higher the likelihood the ad will
appear higher in position in the list of ads served. Google, invariably wanting
to make the most from advertisers, determines placement based on a combination
of click through rate, bid amount and budget. Of course, in order to maximize
revenue and please searchers Google does have guidelines for ads served and all
ads must receive a minimum percentage click through or they are removed.
AdWord Guidelines
Clearly and accurately describe
the website, this is to the advertiser and searchers benefit. Ultimately, the
more qualified the visitor who clicks the ad, the higher the likelihood the
clicker will convert into a sale. By providing clear and accurate information,
searchers who click the ad are qualified leads, which tend to convert more
consistently than unqualified leads. The most effective advertising communicates
a clear message to a targeted audience.
Avoid excessive capitalization,
superlatives and lavish exclamation marks in the ad. By doing this you are not
only serving the visitor you are filtering unwanted clicks from non-buyers. Due
to space limitations your ad message will need to be concise. Select keywords
that are relevant to your product, service or content. Call to action phrases
are not allowed (i.e. you cannot use phrases like "click here" in your ad copy.)
There are also no pop-ups.
Steps for AdWord Campaign
1.) Open an account
2.) Target language and country
- This is very important because if your product or service can not be exported
you do not want to pay to advertise in those countries for which your product or
service can not be sold.
3.) Create Ad Group - design an
ad, select keywords, determine maximum cost per click that you are willing to
spend and define bid amounts.
Title
The title tag is generally the
most important part of the ad be sure to use a short phrase that gets the
attention of your target audience. An underutilized feature at Google allows you
to put a question mark in the title, the term searched on automatically replaces
the question mark in the title of your ad.
Define max click - Google will
suggest a cost per click, but the recommendation does not need to be adhered to.
Arguments have been heard that #1 position does not always mean increased sales;
sometimes a second position will filter useless clicks and provide targeted
traffic with a higher conversion ration. The rule of thumb is positions 1-3
garner the most traffic and best results. Increasing either your maximum
cost-per-click or the ads click through rate will generally improve the ad's
position.
Use keyword variations to reach
more prospects. A variety or spellings and derivatives of keywords will increase
the chances of your ads being served. Be sure to use common misspellings and
plurals in your keyword list.
Broad match - is targeting
keywords in a loosely defined manner. Ads appear based on keywords that have
been queried by search users. For instance, if the keywords you are planning on
broad matching are "mountain bikes" and users search for the terms "bikes that
can climb a mountain", your ad will appear; as opposed to exact match, which
requires that the keywords selections must exactly match the query.
Phrase match - is indicated
when quotations are used in the phrase. A keyword phrase set to phrase match
will only appear when the exact phrase is searched on. For example "mountain
bikes" will appear when searchers search for "brand name mountain bikes".
Exact match - is when the
keyword or phrase is entered with brackets. The phrase will only serve ads when
the entered search phrase is identical to the keyword phrase. "Mountain bikes"
will only appear when searchers search for "mountain bikes"
Negative keyword - is helpful
in filtering unrelated phrases. A dash is entered before the filtering phrase.
"Mountain bike -races will not appear if mountain bike races are searched on.
Landing Page - is important
because this not only helps with tracking, but also provides a focused and
specific landing page for searchers. Information can be related to the actual
search, while also increasing the conversion ratios for sales. A focused landing
page with content related and using the same terminology as the actual search,
will show the searcher that your solution is relevant to their needs.
3.) Define budget - in order to
maximize exposure Google recommends a daily budget for each campaign.
Google's suggested budget is
helpful in receiving consistent traffic throughout the advertising campaign.
Keep in mind this is only Google's recommendation; ultimately it is up to you to
determine a budget that is affordable and suitable.
Google supplies tracking tools
that assist webmasters in determining their return on investment based on
keyword searches and phrases. While the technology is not perfect and cannot
track phone and purchase orders, it should give advertisers a sense of what
phrases and keywords are converting well in their advertising campaign.
While Google AdWords should not
be your only advertising campaign, but should be a significant part of your
campaign. Google AdWords can certainly help send those important targeted
searchers to your website. Get started with Google AdWords at http://www.google.com/ads/
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