Google AdWords: 3 Tips & Tricks for Success
Many small business owners are either still unaware of the power of search marketing or still too afraid to jump in. The fact is though, the Google AdWords program has been developed and updated nicely over the years. No matter your business size or budget, there’s really no reason not to try it.
Here are some quick and easy tips and tricks to use in your campaigns:
Stay Away from Broad – Bidding on broad keywords is the single biggest mistake that most AdWords newbies make. The common issue is that marketers thrive on impressions, and the more impressions the better. The sub sequential thought supports this by assuming that more impressions leads to more clicks, which is often true.
Why is broad so bad? Your clicks are not very targeted and therefore provide unqualified and weak leads – if you can even classify them as leads at all. For example, let’s say a user is searching with the keyword “fire.” They could be looking for anything from a new fireplace, a fireplace cleaner or even a fire truck toy. If a marketer bids on the broad keyword “fire”, it could easily lead to a bad click and wasted cost.
To combat this, start small by targeting exact keyword phrases instead of broad keywords. Yes, the impressions will be a bit lower, and so will the clicks, but your ROI should increase considering the leads that are being produced will be more accurate.
Double Your Ads – Google AdWords automatically will A/B test the ads that are live within a particular campaign. If the program automatically does it, then why not do it? Many marketers don’t take advantage because they feel that creating a new ad means creating a new promotion or a new landing page. This really shouldn’t be the case.
Try creating an ad that has the same destination URL, but is organized in a slightly different way or has a different call to action. Another interesting test is having an ad without a call to action to a particular promotion. You never know what ad users will favor unless you test! Basically, let your customers show you what they like more, instead of guessing.
Use Auto-Tagging – This is another feature that can be automatically completed within Google AdWords and should be taken advantage of usually. Many marketers may not use the URL tagging mechanisms that integrate with Google Analytics, which is an issue in itself, but letting AdWords do this automatically gives an Analytics newbie some insight into how these can be useful.
Yes, Analytics has an AdWords module, but it only compares AdWords to AdWords, when a more complete view would compare the AdWords data to the rest of the website. Also, when a marketer lets AdWords auto-tag, the naming convention that is used is whatever is input into AdWords originally, so it should be consistent and you don’t have to hassle with doing it yourself.
These quick tips and tricks should help you get in front of the right people, the right way, and with the right tracking.
Good luck!
By Modern Postcard
Call a Direct Marketing Specialist at 800.959.8365.
