Adwords is probably the most efficient and popular online marketing advertising platform.
Google’s advertising platform offers both cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM) pricing for advertisements served on Google.com.au and partner sites.
If you use it properly, you can manage a large ROI on your online marketing campaigns.
There are hundreds of books written about how to optimize your Adwords campaigns, however I believe if you follow some basic rules you’ll be able to save your money and enlarge your profits:
PPC Basics
1) Define what you want
It seems obvious however most advertisers do not know exactly what they want. All of them will repeat the same - “I want more sales!” Do’h! this is the outcome
Define your budget, your cost per conversion, your offer, your response, etc.
Remember - Online Marketing = trackability
2) Work on Geo Location
Target your campaigns with specific areas. Use the specific vocabulary for that area, specific promotion or offer for your location. All the characteristics as weather, local personalities, local festivities, local holidays, etc.
3) Separate Content Network from Search Network
Write campaigns/offers for content network (ads showed at partners websites) then sit down adn re write the ads from searhers perspective and use it form Search.
The users can still be the same, but they are on a different timing and with a different need.
Everything will be easier to track and report if you break your campaigns separating it on content and Search.
4) Research for your keywords.
identify YOUR users vocabulary not yours.
5) make sure your ads are included on the correct match
There are three different keyword matching options, each specifying a different way for a keyword to interact with search queries
Broad Match - This is the default option.If your ad group contained the keyword cell phones, your ad would be eligible to appear when a user’s search query contained cell and phone, in any order, and possibly along with other terms (also plural, synonyms, etc).
Phrase Match - Phrase match is more targeted than broad match, but more flexible than exact match.
Exact Match - most targeted option. Although you won’t receive as many impressions with exact match, you’ll likely enjoy the most targeted clicks.
Do not start with broad match, unless you are branding with a good budget.
6) Personalize your ads/keywords.
users tend to click much more in personalized ads rather than generic ones.
Example, you are in Melbourne/australia, looking for car hires in Melbourne Australia, which one of the following ads would you rather click?
“Melbourne Car hire” or “Rent a car”
7) Write the right ads for the right group of people
Offer relevant products/ads for your target. Don’t assume that you are offering an advantage if you are not working on their needs. Remember anticipate, make it personal, relevant - and if you can- unique.
8 ) Have you landing pages to continue the conversation.
Your landing pages work as a continuous conversation, it needs to be familiar and relevant. It needs to be an extension of your ad.
Think like this, You’ve been given a permission to talk about you and your product. The landing page is the right place to talk about it. Don’t try to sell everything at the same time.This level of relationship is so temporary that if you do not handle it correctly is disappears with your user clicking back or clicking to another website.
If you don’t have specific landing page, create one.
9) Negative keywords.
Adding a negative keyword to your ad group or campaign means that your ads won’t show for search queries containing that term.
Example, you sell travel packages. You create all your campaigns and your main keyword is “holiday” using Phrase match. However you want to reach every possible prospect ad you either forgot or did not build negative keywords.
Surprise, your ads are showing for queries like sex “holidays” or how about free “holidays”?
If you care about your budget and brand negative keywords is to be given the same attention you give to build your keywords.
Basic Management
- 80% of your traffic comes from 20% of your adgroups. Your focus needs to be on this 20%, therefore running reports and understanding your data is mandatory.
- review your ads- keep rewriting ads to improve your campaigns. Once every second week to start.
- identify performance per channel and time. Which are the best days and hours for sales? For leads generation? What are the best days/time to build subscribers? What are the best channels? Search or network?
- Review your bids based on your initial target - ROI needs to be positive on adgroup level.
- Sometimes you are negative on you keyword/bid/roi realtionship but is better to keep the keywords running as a retainer against your competitors.
Cheers
Lucio Ribeiro
