As you may know, you can use Google Adwords to target people online who are looking for what you offer. You do this by targeting specific keywords and phrases.
So for instance when somebody types into the Google search bar “fitted kitchens Holsworthy”…”plumber Bude”…”solicitor Launceston” your ad appears on the right hand side of the page in a Google search. The ads appear under the Sponsored Ads column.What happens is when somebody clicks on your ad then you pay a certain amount. That’s why Adwords are known as pay per click (PPC).
Of course, the beauty of Adwords is that you can set up a campaign and be sending people who are looking for what you’re selling to your web page within minutes. But there can be a slight catch with Google Adwords.
You see, unless you set up your Adword campaign correctly you can end up spending a lot of money… fast. And you end up running through your advertising budget quicker than a hot knife through butter.
However, a well run Google Adword campaign set up correctly can continually generate an endless supply of new inquiries and sales for your business. So how should you set up your Adword campaign?
Well, one common mistake is placing all your keywords and phrases together in one ad group. This is a big no-no. Here’s why. Google likes you to be very specific. So split your campaigns into different ad groups. And make sure for each group you’re sending people to a web page that is highly relevant to the keywords.
Another common mistake is running only one ad for your keyword group. But, you need to write two ads. Then you need to run them against each other. What happens is, over a few days or weeks, one ad will generate more clicks than the other ad. So you scrap the poorly performing ad and write a new ad. You then run your new ad against your best performing ad. This new ad may generate more clicks or it may not. But you keep testing ads.
Why is this testing important? Well, over time your ads will attract more clicks. Your Click Through Rate – CTR – goes up – (this is the number of people clicking on your ads). This is where Google rewards you with a lower cost per click.
Another common mistake is your web site doesn’t have enough web pages. You see, Google likes your web site to have other pages then just pages about your business. So if you don’t have these extra pages then Google penalizes you. And you pay more.
One final point; if you use a PPC company to manage your Adword campaigns go into your account and take a look bearing in mind the points I’ve raised earlier. It’s surprising how many PPC companies don’t set up a campaign properly so it runs cost effectively.
By continually monitoring your Google Adwords it will become more cost effective. As a result, your cost per click goes down and your advertising budget will go further.