04 Nov Getting Started on Google Ads
Today I am showing you how to get started on Google AdWords and giving simple tips on how to work them like a pro in your first few days.
Think about why you would want to start using it. Clients of mine have said that Google is like the new yellow pages. Once you are up there for certain terms you will get business. So let’s look at how you get up there!
- Have a clear goal.
Michael Ortner who is the CEO of Capterra has been quoted saying;
“The most important part of any SEM [search engine marketing] campaign is to have a clear goal in mind”
And he isn’t wrong. In fact the same can be said about any foray into the marketing world. The main point of pretty much any AdWords campaign should be to grow sales, as opposed to just generating brand awareness as this can be done in other ways and is difficult to measure. Think about what specific action you are trying to get your target market to do. Purchasing online? Filling out their details? Know what you want before going live.
- Always think of things like your customer.
Even when writing the ad text. Think, would I click on this if I was my client? Think AIDAS
- Attention – Grab the Attention of your audience over anyone else’s ad.
- Interest – Raise customer interest with the ad with compelling text or offers.
- Desire -Convince customers that they will want your product.
- Action – lead customers towards taking action on your site in any form no matter how small (include a call-to-action).
- Satisfaction -Give them this if they end up choosing your website
Based on this idea, you should also use the relevant targeting in AdWords to target correctly. Use all 3 main ones first and then start to narrow down the ones that work; Exact match, Phrase match, Broad match. Try to move most of your bids to exact match keywords as these are people further down the buying path. You also need to separate ad groups by keyword type, in addition to category, to keep the campaign well-organized.
- Use negative keywords.
Using negative keywords or “negging out” keywords is where you add in keywords you don’t want to rank for. They are keywords related to other keywords in the campaign that are not related to what you are trying to advertise. By using them properly, you can streamline your ad delivery, presenting it on more relevant search result pages, and then driving better quality traffic and leads to your landing pages, while also improving your Google AdWords Quality Score meaning you get cheaper cost per click/acquisition. It’s a Win- Win.
- Always be testing.
Don’t stop testing. Again this can be said for all digital marketing campaigns not just Google AdWords. Once you identify your goal mentioned above, you can start to plan some tests to try to maximize your outcome. You should try to test in the entire funnel from initial introduction to conversion.
First, you must identify some keywords to bid on and what your ad should say or look like, then (with AIDAS in mind) think of the landing page and how you are going to follow up with email, or even social. Try to only run one test at a time at the start so you can track what is working best for you.
“Test, test and then test again.”
No one can really claim it but people live by this statement as it is vital to success. If you are not testing, you are guessing. Even the smallest of things can make the difference. Create lots of different variations of your ads and identify which gets the lowest cost per click, best click through rate, the highest number of conversions, etc. After you do this and you know that one or two specific things work, keep those pieces and start again.
- Start conversion tracking.
You need to track everything, from how much it costs to how well it is converting. Now that Google has removed the keyword data from the SEO analytics, being able to see what keywords are triggering a conversion is tough unless you are paying for it. If you think from a bid management point of view you need to keep an eye on what is converting well. It is the action or actions that you want your visitors to take on the website you need to track. This way you can get a big picture view of your spend.
One more thing; You should make sure that you are engaging mobile users. Across our clients we are seeing a move to mobile and the rate is now at roughly 60/40 mobile. Make sure that you are using mobile-preferred ads in your AdWords your campaigns. By doing this you can customise your message and have mobile specific calls-to-action. This in addition to a unique landing page is key to high conversion rates and a great user experience.
So they are just a couple of tips to get going on your AdWords. If you would like me to explain any more just tweet me and I can help you out!
Tris
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