A Crash Course to Google AdWords

What exactly are Google AdWords? Should my company be taking advantage of this advertising channel? How do I get involved? If you are wondering about the answers to any or all of these questions, please read on. Google AdWords is the pay per click advertising service provided by Google. This tool offers advertisers the option of posting their ads on various partner and associated websites linked through Google’s AdSense campaign.

Google AdWords…The Basics

Google has two different categories of search results, organic results and sponsored links. If you were to open up a web browser and type in the word “furniture,” two different sets of search results will pop up. The organic list search results will run down the left side of the page, and the sponsored links (paid search results I am discussing in this piece,) will appear on the right hand column. The order of the organic search listings is determined by various relevancy factors, while the paid search top spots are “rented” to highest bidders. Advertisers are bidding for space in an automated auction; the higher the advertiser bids on a keyword, the higher in rankings the ad will appear, and the more likely that the ad will be seen by prospective clients.

Why People Love AdWords

AdWords is an option for companies on any budget – as the sign up fee is only five bucks, and you can set your budget at whatever you choose. Moreover, you only pay when your ads are clicked on. Mastering Google AdWords becomes addicting for many people; a puzzle or game for avid marketers to master.

Designing your AdWords Campaign

To get started, simply brainstorm. Write down a big list of words that can be used to describe your product or service. Try both of these tactics: Write down the obvious words that come to mind, and also think of words “outside of the box.” It may take time to build your AdWords account up to your ideal. Be patient, eventually you will learn what keywords are right for your campaign. Savvy AdWords advertisers realize that in order for prospects to see your ad, you do not necessarily need to have the highest ranked ad, or dish out the most cash. The two main goals of great Google AdWords advertisers: Get the lowest Cost-Per-Click (CPC) and the most possible quality clicks, (the clicks that will generate leads and hopefully sales too.)

Need helping learning how to effectively select your keywords? Watch this helpful tutorial session for an explanation on this process.

http://www.google.com/adwords/tutorial.html

Another noteworthy tip: Google AdWords has a helpful “speak to a representative” feature for the convenience of users.

Managing Your Account

The best rule of thumb for this: Make some preliminary decisions, test them out, monitor the results, and adjust as necessary. When constructing and managing your campaign, remember that Google wants people to continue using their search engine tool. The best way to achieve this: Make sure people are finding what they search for. This way, they will think “Google!” the next time they need to search for something. What this boils down to for you: The number one word to remember when selecting your keywords is relevancy.

The Google AdWords tool is complex; I have barely scratched the surface on what managing an account entails, nor have I touched upon all the bells and whistles it has to offer. Your success with Google AdWords relies heavily on how well you learn the ins and outs of the tool. You may want to spend some time learning how to use this powerful channel to your best advantage. A wise person once told me, “A person who masters Google AdWords will be able to market just about anything successfully.”

For additional information regarding this article, please contact sspino@everonit.com.

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