Stick to the Google Search to start. When you are
setting up campaigns in Google, you will be
encouraged to expand your ad’s reach by selecting
Search Network with Display or Search Network
only. When you’re experimenting, start with the
Search Network only, but go a step further and
uncheck the Include search partners option. This is
important in the early stages of your campaigns
because new campaigns have a learning curve and
you need all the data you can gather when you sit
back and evaluate what’s happening. To get the
most data, I suggest using Google Analytics in
addition to the Google Adwords reporting tools for
these evaluations. Once you get the phone to ring
a few times, it helps to know which half of your
spend is responsible for driving the activity.
Clamp down on the match logic. It’s almost impossible to guess the exact syntax a potential customer is going to be searching for. The searches
could be early in the decision process like “how do
you fix a squeak by front brakes,” to middle of the
decision process like “average cost to replace
brakes,” to the very end of the process like “best
brake shop near Glenview Oakland area.” If
you’re bidding on the word “brakes” you will end
up paying for a lot of searches and clicks you don’t
want. Google helps you by providing match logic
that ranges from Broad, to Phrase, to Exact. I suggest starting with Exact matches on your phrases
until you get an idea of the cost per click and the
results from your campaigns. From there, once
you find some phrases that work, move out to
Phrase matching which will generate more
matched searches, and then Broad matching,
which will generate the most searches, and the
highest spend.
fit, and now they’ve clicked. You’ve done a great
job qualifying them, now send them to a page that
makes sense.
If I’m searching for “average cost to replace brakes”
and your ad promised a “one stop shop for brakes,”
don’t send me to the home page unless it has a giant
“AVERAGE COST FOR BRAKES BY VEHICLE” or
similar promise on it. Even if the ad didn’t mention
prices, I am looking for a ballpark estimate. Don’t
let me down. Your clicks will tell you the phrase
they searched for and the ad they clicked on. Take
a minute to trace their path and make sure the page
they land on is relevant.
As you’d expect, you’ll need more than just these
ideas to make your Adwords campaigns rock and
roll, but if you can incorporate the five concepts I’ve
mentioned, you’ll save hours and dollars to start.
Your buyers are using Google daily. It makes sense
for you to invest in learning how to put Adwords
into your company’s marketing mix. If you finish
your campaign on paper before you start, if you
understand the three phases of budget, if you
reduce the number of spots your ads show, if you
narrow the terms your ads show on and if you keep
the buyer on a relevant journey, you are giving your
company a fighting chance at driving cost effective
leads and sales.
Greg Chambers is El Presidente of Chambers Pivot
Industries, which helps entrepreneurial companies create
sales-and-marketing practices they can get excited about
and are a perfect fit for their cultures. Visit their site at
http://www.chamberspivot.com
Be relevant to your buyer. This last idea focuses
on what happens once the prospect clicks on your
search ad. U