Google AdWords / Pay Per Click 101 / Advertising for Small Business

Looking at running a Google AdWords Campaign? Let me start off by giving you a link that will help you with those abbreviations you will hear AdWords Folk talk about and use – http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=6828.

Now, as an Online Business Strategist and Business Development Manager, I have implemented and set up multiple SEM (search engine marketing) campaigns. So, what goes into the setup of a successful Google AdWords or Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign?

I would like to look at this now, and I will be looking at it from a perspective of a Small to Medium business, for this, a towing business xxxx towing.

Google AdWords AKA: Pay Per Click (PPC)

This is a simple, quick, yet highly effective way of generating traffic to you your website. For those who are new to this, here is how it works:

Assume for a minute you have a towing business, and you want to market it on Google. You set a daily budget; let’s say $10 per day. You also need to set an amount you are willing to spend per click through to your website, a  ‘bid’ per click’ (or “Maximum Bid”). So for this, let’s say you bid $1 per click. Now your new website is xxxstowing.com.au, and you want to appear for a keyword like ‘towing castle hill’. When a user, obviously in need of your service, types in this keyword, results will then be shown by Google.

Google AdWords Example

So, the Pay Per Click Results are shown on the top middle, and down the right hand side. So far, you have not been charged a thing. Now, let’s say the user then clicks on your ad, and goes through to your website, you will then be charged the $1 for that click, which then leaves you with a $9 daily budget. Easy, right? Well, If you have tried this, you know it is not that simple. Most business get stuck here and are left scratching their head with ‘how do I make it work effectively?’ or ‘ I have spent $500 dollars over a month and have not gotten a single enquiry, and the one I did get, wanted to know what type of wheels I use on my pickup truck. I hear this all too regularly!

I would like to dispel a myth: You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars a month to generate a ROI (return on investment) from Google AdWords.

Here are some tips if you are looking to set up your own campaign.

How will they make a decision?

What is your target audience, and what are your goals (always take into consideration your budget you can allocate, be reasonable in your goals based on your budget) and then, what is it you want from a potential customer when they land on your website?

• Provide information?
• Get a registration?
• Brand Awareness?
• Sales? (I could hear people screaming YES!)

Setting up your campaign

Set your campaign up based on structure and a theme. Separate your ad groups into categories of products, and write ads for each of those categories to be more relevant for users who search. Enclose in your ad a clear message; make sure you clearly define what you are offering. All your ads will need to be sent to the relevant page on your website for the categories on your website. Or, design a landing page with Calls to Action and USP’s (unique selling points) with only relevant information and an easy to navigate structure.

Remember, when users visit your site, they automatically (without thinking) seek answers to questions.

• How credible is this website?
• Why should I click here?
• What benefits does this offer me?

Promote Promote Promote!!

It all starts with selecting, carefully, a fine-tuned keyword list. Make sure you have a specific theme, use related phrases, synonyms, and misspellings are important.

Some helpful tips.

1. Use multiple keyword matching options.
2. Implement negative keywords to filter irrelevant traffic, which will minimise the campaign cost (and improve conversion rates!).
3. Make sure product extensions are on.
4. Smart phones are huge! If your website is mobile friendly, make sure mobile targeting is on. If not, you may want to think about speaking to your web people about ensuring your site is easy to read/navigate on mobile devices.
5. Enable Search and Content network  if you’re looking for high traffic volume. However if conversion rate is your main focus, you may want to stick to search initially as Google’s content network generally does not perform as well as the search network.

Action?

So, your message has got across to your desired audience. Let the action begin!

Your primary focus here is the Client! Remember, the client’s experience when promoting online is extremely important. As much as you can gain a potential client online, you can also lose one, and this happens faster than you can say “customer”.  Put work into your landing page, this is your shot to get a client. Make sure it is easy to navigate, with Calls to Actions, USP’s, and you are giving a good impression of your business with the website layout. If engaging in AdWords, put some time into your website. This is your main gateway to success.

Potential Clients seek fast, simple and profitable solutions to their requirements. Make the conversion process as simple as possible.

As frequently as possible, monitor the campaign performance. Remove possible obstacles, (i.e. too many different places they have to click, or too many forms that need to be completed). Make sure the user feels safe to interact with your website. In summary, the simpler it is, the better and higher chance of conversions.

Here are some tips on how you can make ongoing adjustments:

• Always monitor and adjust your bidding settings.
• Eliminate non-performing keywords.
• Try to have multiple ads per campaign categories, and test which generates the highest CTR (click through rate)
• Try different calls to actions on your page.
• Mix it up with your landing page, use other layouts, and measure which works more effectively.
• With AdWords, what gets measured improves! This is law!