Google has consistently launched one killer application after another, and they were not playing around when they entered into the pay-per-click arena with their "Adwords" program. Adwords is one of the largest online advertising networks, reaching more than 80% of all Internet users.
So how does it work? You choose keywords/phrases that are related to your products/services, write the text ads that will be shown when someone performs a search for your keywords, set a daily budget and the cost you want to pay every time someone clicks on your ad (C.P.C), and you're ready to run. There is no activation fee and no minimum monthly spend amount.
Ads are called "sponsored links", and appear along with search results on Google, as well as other affiliated search engines and "content sites" in the Google Network. This type of keyword based advertising will help you to reach a highly targeted audience quickly and easily.
Not only can you run text ads, but also image/animated ads - even video. If you are a beginner at pay-per-click marketing, I would suggest you start out with text ads. You will need to learn at first.
So what does a text ad look like? It consists of a 25 character headline, a description that is 2 lines of no more than 35 characters, and what's called a "display url". This url can reflect any domain you like because when it is clicked upon, the browser will take them to your "destination url". This is set up behind the scenes and does not appear in the ad itself.
A 3 line text ad might sound like a lot of room, but it is not. You have got a small area to make a huge impact on the searcher and make them want to click. Do not underestimate the power of a well written ad. If you do not know a lot about how to write "good copy", I suggest you study up. You will want to include what is referred to as a "call to action" somewhere in the description. You will also want to include your keywords if possible in your title and ad copy so they will appear in a bold font when your ad is displayed.
You also need to send them to the page that is most relevant to your ad copy. This page is called a "landing page", and you will want to make sure it converts. A conversion happens when the visitor performs the action you intended. For example, signs up for your newsletter, buys your product, etc. With Adwords conversion tracking you will be given a snippet of code to paste on your web page wherever any conversion takes place. For example, your thank you page. This allows you to track how well your pages are converting.
Now that landing page load time is being factored into "quality score", you will also want to pay attention to your page's load time. Quicker is better. Now, let us talk about keywords. The biggest mistake most people make is choosing single keywords. You are much better off with two and three word combinations. For example if you sell dog food, instead of targeting a generic term like "dogs", you would be better off selecting "dog food". Remember, these keywords will be responsible for triggering your ads to appear, so do your homework and choose wisely. Targeting the wrong keywords can be a very expensive lesson.
No comments:
Post a Comment