3 Part Beginner's Guide to Google

Today I'm going to introduce you to the amazing world of Google Adwords. This is such an important tool in the online marketing armoury that I am going to split up the information across three sections.

PART 1

If you are new to online advertising then you are about to enter one of the most exciting developments ever to happen on the Internet and also one which could dramatically increase your profits. If you are already using Google Adwords then congratulations and check out Part 2 & 3 where I give you 3 top strategies for minimising cost and maximising profit. If you tried and failed with Google Adwords then try again because this time I will be giving you key strategies to make your campaign a flying success.

If you're not sure what Google Adwords is (generally known as ‘pay per click') then let me briefly explain. More than 90% of UK search engine traffic goes through Google. Therefore, if a prospect is searching for your business type there is a 9 in 10 chance that they will use Google. If you look at a typical Google search page you will notice that down the right-hand side there are panelled adverts. (The column is titled "Sponsored Links".) Take a look at the example page . These adverts, when clicked on, take the browser to the advertiser's website where the sales process can begin.

The reason why companies pay for these sponsored links is because it is almost impossible to get on to the first page of the natural listings (the left-hand side of the screen) as it's typically dominated by the biggest businesses in that sector. The beauty of the Adwords system is it gives SMEs the opportunity to compete. (Type "Microsoft" into Google and you'll see what I mean.)

The advertisers you can see are paying to have their advert displayed. However, unlike conventional advertising the advertiser only pays when their advert is clicked on. This simple process has made Google the billion-dollar company it is today. Their success provides proof that this system of advertising generates a return on the investment for the hundreds of thousands of advertisers. (If it didn't generate revenue for the advertisers Google would be bankrupt by now.)

The principal reason why it works is down to one word "relevancy". When you place an online advert with Google it will only be shown when the keywords you have specified are typed in. For example, let's say you are an accountant, in the West Midlands whose focus is small-businesses. The keywords you might select are; “accountants”, “accountancy”, “accounting”, combined with “West Midlands”, “Midlands”, “Birmingham”, “small-business”, “small businesses”, etc. When someone types in any of those keywords into the Google search engine it will trigger your ad which will then be displayed. If the browser finds your ad attractive enough to click on then it will take them to your web site. So, in essence you are only paying for qualified traffic hitting your web site. The real power of this advertising method is that your advert is only seen by people who you know are interested in reviewing your services at that moment. In this way, online advertising separates itself from all other forms in that the person reading your ad is;

Looking for the service you provide,
Interested in solving their particular business problem at that moment and
Has already ascribed value to your business by being sufficiently interested to click on your advert.

If you are concerned about the cost let me reiterate that you only pay when your advert is clicked on. Once the browser has clicked on the advert it is up to your website to continue with the sales process.

I have prepared below some multimedia training materials from Google which will help you understand the system as well as step you through the account creation process.

Once you have created your account you can log-in to it at any time.

I urge you to join the Google Adwords programme. I just want to make absolutely clear that we receive no financial gain from Google, I am suggesting this to you because I know it works. All of our customers who let us manage their campaigns are earning hundreds of thousands of pounds in revenue, so why shouldn’t you?

PART 2

Now you’ve opened your Google Adwords account you can start to receive targeted traffic to your website and thereby increase your sales revenue. I now want to give you three practical strategies which you can use to perfect your campaign and maximise the return on your investment.

(Even if you already have a Google Adwords account then you will still find the strategies below of benefit, so read on...)

Strategy #1

Find as many keywords as you can which relate to what you are selling.

So many businesses that use Google Adwords only use a few keywords which describe their product or service. For example, if you sell insurance the obvious keywords might be "insurance", "house insurance", "personal insurance", "travel insurance" and so on. However, because these keywords are so popular there are huge numbers of advertisers trying to get their adverts seen. Consequently, because you are ‘bidding’ for your advert’s position against other advertisers it can become an extremely expensive proposition as everyone tries to outbid everyone else.

The trick is to bid on as many keywords and keyword combinations as possible that relate to your product or service as well out the main keywords. So, using example above you may wish to try keywords such as, "free insurance quote", "insurance agent", "family health insurance", "health insurance plan", "insurance [your town/area/County]” etc.

The more keywords you have the more traffic you will attract to your site as you will be covering all the keyword variations that browsers would be typing in to locate your product/service. However, because you are choosing less competitive keywords the cost of the click is dramatically reduced. So you can get just as much traffic (if not more) at less cost.

Here are 2 free tools which you can use to help you put together your keyword list. All you need to do is put in the main keyword(s) and it will work out to the variations for you.

Strategy #2

Make your headline copy the same as the keywords.

You may have noticed that whenever you type in a keyword if that keyword appears in an advert it is always in bold. This is Google's way of rewarding relevancy. Naturally enough the browser's eye will be drawn to those adverts with the most number of bold keywords. This makes your job of working out what to have in the headline of your advert incredibly easy. All you need to do is make sure that the keywords typed in by the browser are the same as your headline.

For example if a keyword you want to advertise against is "bad debt recovery" your headline should read "bad debt recovery".

Strategy #3

Split test your adverts.

Another very common mistake advertisers make is to only run one advert for all of their keywords. In marketing terms this puts all of your eggs in one basket as you won't know if your advert is underperforming because you have nothing to compare it against.

All you need to do is create a new advert in your Adgroup. I recommend that you copy your initial advert then make one change. For example, change just the second-line. Now you will be able to measure which advert performs best (gets the most click throughs).

Wait until each advert has received at least 20 clicks before deciding which is the clear winner. The reason for this is to allow the system to accrue enough data for you to be able to make a reasonable judgement (this is known as statistical significance).

Now the clever bit is once you have your winner you try to write another advert which outperforms it. The more times you do this, the better your adverts will become and the more click throughs you will generate.

One final thing, by default Google tries to pick the best performing ad and show that one more frequently. However this will bias the results so you can switch off this feature by entering your campaign and choosing "Edit Campaign Settings" then select " Rotate: Show ads more evenly".

If you implement these strategies I can guarantee that you will be doing 100% more than most of the advertisers using Google Adwords. The natural consequence of this advice is that it will reduce the cost per click, increase relevant traffic to your site, automatically improve your advert’s position and generate more business for you.

PART 3

If you’ve successfully implemented the previous 3 strategies I gave you then you really need to be congratulated. Taking action is vital to online success so, well done!

Let's jump straight into our fourth strategy

Strategy #4

Make your advert only sell the click.

A common mistake is to try and make the advert copy sell your product or service. A far more effective mechanism is to write copy that inspires the user to click. (In reality, that is the sole purpose of the advert, to get traffic to your web site.) The best way to illustrate this is through example so consider the relative strengths of these two ad lines:

Get all the latest fashions with our fast and friendly service.
Get 20 Free fashion tips to make you look fantastic this summer!

The second one is, of course, more compelling because not only is it offering something for free but it addresses the real reason why people buy clothes, they want to look good! Notice how we are not trying to sell the service we are simply trying to attract prospects. It is the website's job to make the sale.

Strategy #5

Link the elements together.

Google are very keen on ensuring that the results the user gets from typing in the keywords are highly relevant. (Imagine if you looking for a local hairdresser and adverts for car mechanics appeared!) Therefore, Google expect your ad to be relevant to the keywords typed in, but more than that, they also expect the page that your browser visits having clicked on your ad to also share the same relevance. So, putting it bluntly if the keywords typed in are "free HDTV report" then your ad should say "free HDTV report" and the page they are directed to should contain the free HDTV report!

This sounds simple but it can get complex. The problem occurs with the more keywords that you have. Often the keywords will 'drift' away from the core content of the web page even though you may immediately see the relationship. For example, if you sell BMWs you may also want to attract new customers to service their cars. If your advert takes the browser to the homepage there may be no reference to the service department. Google will then penalise your advert by pushing it down the rankings, forcing you to increase your bid price. The solution is very simple; always direct the browser to the part of your web site which bears most relevance to the keyword that they have typed in.

Here’s a link if you would like further insight into how Google measures relevance

Strategy #6

Avoid bidding wars.

It is very tempting, especially when your campaign is going well, to pitch your advert at first position on the page. However, research identifies that whilst you will typically receive anything between three and seven times more clicks from being in first position the conversion rate does not appreciably increase. One of the reasons for this may be the 'click happy browser'. Often browsers will only take a few seconds in deciding where to click so if your advert is in pole position they are more likely to click on it. This is typically because most people click on the “search” button which is nearest to the top advert so the least amount of mouse movement takes them to the first ad. It does not mean that they are 'committed'. Typical browsing behaviour of a committed user (i.e., someone who has a genuine need) will be more thorough. They will take the time to read adverts in positions 2, 3 and 4 so they can weigh up options. Thus, your advert is best served in one of these positions.

There is another school of thought on this point and this is to simply let others engage in bidding wars. If your competitors want to slug it out for pole position, let them. The reality is that you will increase your click through rate and conversions by implementing the strategies we have suggested to a far greater degree than by simply attempting to bludgeon your way to the top at any price.

Happy Googling

Jed Wylie’s

Internet Success Strategies