Google Adwords

Google Adwords is one of the biggest online paid search platforms which can drive customers to your site. The platform is most effective when it is used to target new customers and drive them towards a specific product page.

Many ecommerce websites use it to great effect and can boast a return on investment of between 300 and 500%.

Find out some of the best tips to achieve great success when running a PPC campaign in this blog post.

What Is A Google Adwords Advert?

Google Adwords is an ad platform that shows adverts at the top or on the right of a search page on Google. The adverts can also appear on over 2 million websites which Google partners with.

These adverts are known as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). That is to say, the advert is free until it is clicked on and the advertiser is charged on a per-click basis. Google Adwords is also part of the paid search industry. The effectiveness of this marketing method is incredibly high with 20-50% of all online sales originating from this marketing stream.

There are a number of other paid search providers out there, including Bing, LinkedIn, AdMonster and others. However, Google is the biggest and has the best results.

How Do You Create A Google Adwords Campaign?

Creating a campaign in Google Adwords is very simple. Google has designed the process so your campaign can be quickly designed, reviewed and activated.

To start a campaign log in to your Adwords account. Choose the “+campaign” on the “Campaigns Tab”. Then select the campaign type you want. The most common campaigns are “Search Networks with Display Select”, “Search Networks Only” or “Display Select Only”. There are other campaign types available, though for new businesses these three are the best.

It is recommended that as your first campaign you choose “Search Networks with Display Select”. This will give your advert the greatest exposure and best chances of success.

From there you’ll be taken to the “select campaign settings” page. Give the campaign a name, and then set your preferences on the following criteria:

• Location
• Language
• Bidding and budget
• Ad extensions

It is important to note Google Adwords allows for the budget to be exceeded by 20% each day. Therefore, ensure you have an affordable budget to account for any days when your budget might be exceeded.

Then you’ll create your ad group. An ad group is a collection of keywords, ads and bids. Each campaign you run in Google Adwords will contain at least one ad group.

Ad groups allow you to group keywords with relevant ads. This improves the chances your advert will be shown on relevant searches and offers you better returns.

To create a text ad you need to select the “create ad” section and “text ad”. Enter in a catchy headline, description, display URL and destination URL.

The display URL is often your homepage, whereas the destination URL is often better for a specific landing page you would like to direct your customer to. Both URLs need to share the same domain name in order to pass Google’s review process.

Then for the advert enter in your keywords. Consider what the user will be searching for when they are on Google. For instance you may sell a certain brand of shoes, but you’ll get few users searching for that brand’s name. You could try instead “Boys Shoes” or “Girls Shoes”.

When you have finished click on “Save”.

Top Tips For Improving Your Campaigns

Pay-per-click advertising is not easy. There are many competitors out there and you need to ensure your adverts are the best to grab the attention of the audience. Here are some advanced tips to help you get ahead of your competitors and ensure you are making the most of your Google Adwords Campaign.

1. Adwords Top Movers Report

If you have a lot of campaigns running at the same time and you notice a sudden surge in web traffic, it is likely one or more of your campaigns are suddenly more popular. You can see which ad campaigns have improved the most by creating a Top Movers Report. You can then copy your best performing adverts’ structure in other campaigns and see if you have found a winning formula for your audience.

2. Automated Rules

Automate the bidding and the display of your adverts so that there are higher bids to secure top positions when traffic will be busiest and lower bids when your target market won’t be online. You can also add in automated rules to increase / decrease bidding depending on click through and conversion rate as well as your ad’s position.

It is highly recommended that you set up an email alert to inform you whenever a campaign has had a change because of an automated rule.

3. IP Blocking

In some markets, your business competitors will select your adverts to see what you are offering and to add expense to your bill. Avoid this by IP blocking. You can find a competitors’ IP address by doing a domain look-up or from their email.

4. Auction Insights

Use this report to discover your performance in ad auctions compared to your competitors’. This report is not an exact science, but it can give a great indication. If you are performing badly you might need to consider raising your bids.

5. Don’t Go For the Top Spot

The top spot on the search results does have a good record of achieving the highest click through. However, research indicates it may be more profitable to have the second or third spot. This is where only those who are really interested in your products click through and therefore are more likely to convert.

6. Get Your Landing Page Sorted

Pay-per-click is great for getting customers to your website. However, pay-per-click has no bearing on whether they will convert. That is the job of your landing page. Therefore to have a truly effective campaign you need to concentrate on your landing page as well.

Conclusion

Google Adwords is an effective marketing avenue which can generate a lot of interest for your brand and revenue. To get the most out of Google Adwords you need to carefully manage your campaigns so you aren’t excessively spending but displaying your adverts to your target market.

Action Steps:

• Sign up to Google Adwords.
• Create an Adwords campaign.
• Run the Adwords campaign and monitor the results on your website traffic and sales.