If you have an online business and you actively attempt to market it, then you probably know about Google AdWords. In fact, you may have heard the success stories but chances are you have also heard about or personally discovered the risks. If you don’t properly understand how AdWords works, you can lose a lot of money from an AdWords campaign.
Google penalizes low click-through rates with high costs so it is important to make sure your ads are relevant to your target audience in order to maximize click-throughs.
By simply doing your initial research to target your ads and being willing to change them to increase your click-through rates, you can avoid high charges such as $5 or $10 per click.
Here are some steps you can take to use AdWords successfully:
1. Design an internet marketing campaign that matches highly focused and similar keywords.
For example, if you are selling organic dog food, you may consider bidding on a keyword like “pet supplies” but Google considers this a general term and not specific or relevant enough. People who are looking for organic dog food will probably not search for “pet supplies.”
If someone has decided that they want to feed their dog organic dog food, then they already know what they want. By specifically targeting your advertisement to this person, you will gain higher conversion rates.
The best way to bid on keywords for Google’s AdWords is to bid on phrases that are similar but not the same. For example, “organic dog food,” “natural dog food,” and “preservative free dog food” are relevant keywords which contain the common phrase “dog food.” If you organize your different keyword groups to contain a common phrase and make the differences relevant you will experience a higher conversion rate.
2. Include your keywords in the body of your advertisement not just the headline.
It is very important to write your keyword as naturally as possible into the body of your advertising text. This is the way to drive targeted traffic to your site. However, you not only benefit by the traffic itself, you will also benefit by much lower advertising costs.
Google will reward you by simultaneously raising your position and lowering your costs. Your ad will be shown more often because it will directly meet the needs of Google searchers.
Remember, relevancy is the key to AdWords success.
3. Your keyword should appear in your headline, text and your link.
When you do a keyword search on Google, the results pages list web pages and advertisements that contain that particular keyword. The keyword can be in the metatags, the website link, headline or text and will be highlighted to be more visible to searchers.
This creates a win-win situation. Not only do Google’s users benefit, Google profits because their reputation is enhanced and you benefit from high quality targeted traffic. Hopefully, this traffic will convert to subscribers and sales and therefore money in your pocket.
4. Design a separate landing page for each keyword you are bidding on.
Creating highly focused landing pages for each keyword is another way to improve your relevancy score with Google.
The keywords you use in your AdWord ads should also be included in your landing page headlines and text so that it is obvious to people clicking on your ad that your content is closely related to your advertisement.
For example, say you search for “organic dog food” and you see a Google ad with the heading “best organic dog food.” This matches your search closely so you click on the advertisement and visit the website.
The first thing you notice on the site is the headline: “How to Choose the Best Organic Dog Food.” This article clearly has information that you are looking for, so you read the article and stay on the site. You will therefore be more predisposed to click on other links within the site for further information.
By creating complementary web pages and advertisements that use targeted and relevant keywords, you will gain the most benefit from your Google AdWords campaign for the lowest possible price.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of Be Successful News, a site that provides information and articles on how to succeed in your own home or small business.
