Google AdWords is the uncontested King of the Pay-per-Click (PPC) market as it currently stands. This is for good reason — more than 67 percent of people use Google for their search queries. This is, in fact, one of many reasons why AdWords is so popular.
AdWords makes it so easy to pull targeted traffic to your online store. All you have to do is start a campaign, set a budget, create an ad and you’re ready to go!
To use AdWords, you need to understand its ins and outs. That's why I've created this Google AdWords 101 — for all of you who would like to use AdWords but have never tried.
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Set up AdWords
First, you'll need to setup your AdWords account. This is very simple: just go to this page pointand register. This guide will be of no use if you can't follow along.
Step 2: Link Google Analytics with your campaign
This step is essential. If you cannot track your AdWords campaign, you cannot improve it. It's as simple as that. Fortunately, Google makes it very easy to track your campaign. From inside your Google AdWords account, simply click on Tools and then click on Google Analytics. Google walks you through the setup process.
Step 3: Find the right keywords
The importance of this step cannot be understated. If the keywords you select are not related to your online store and the merchandise you sell, you may as well pour your money down the drain.
Let’s use "skinny skinny jeans" as an example. First, two reasons why this keyword is better than just "jeans":
- It is specific: You cannot compete with the marketing budgets of the big boys. They have hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend whereas you may have as little as a few hundred. So find a niche and focus on it!
- It is a buyer-focused keyword: Whenever you see specific keywords being entered on Google, especially when sizes are searched for, there is a good chance that these users are ready to buy now. They are looking for a specific item. This is in contrast to a research-focused keyword, such as "best jeans for teenagers."
Using the keyword planner tool
Find the Keyword Planner tool in Google AdWords and type "skinny skinny jeans" in the first drop-down box named "Search for New Keyword and Ad Group Ideas" and then click "Get Ideas." You’ll find that the competition for the keyword is Medium. This is not ideal, but it is more than adequate — it is quite unlikely that you will find buying-focused keywords at low competition.
Now, let’s add "skinny skinny jeans" to our plan. Go back to the AdWords Keyword Planner page and click the blue arrow next to "skinny skinny jeans." Click "Review Estimates" on the right hand side of the page. You will be taken to a page outlining the estimated:
- Daily clicks
- Daily impressions
- Average position
- Cost
Leave this page open, as we will return to it shortly.
Step 4: Research the competition
Let's enter "skinny skinny jeans" into Google and have a look at the AdWords competition (the paid ads, not the free search listings).
Now I'm currently in Australia, so the search results I see will be different than you, but you should get the idea.
These two ads are the only paid advertising on the search results page, so there is potential for this keyword.
Now visit the home pages of every paid ad on the search results page. Your competitors have likely spent thousands of dollars on testing and research. You can learn so much from simply visiting the destination URL of their ad. Check out the landing page below.
A couple of things to take notice of:
- The products are front and center: this means that the visitors are likely in a "ready to buy" state. All you need to do is imitate this layout and you’re likely to see similar results.
- The images are interactive: Now you might that think that this level of interactivity is beyond what your online store can display. But that's not the case! You can easily find a graphic designer on sites such as Elance and Fiverr that will provide this service. And it will add an extra level of professionalism to your store.
This is the power of researching the competition — you learn so much from such a small investment of your time!
Step 5: Start a campaign
Let’s go back to our campaign.
Now it’s time for some additional research. How much do you want to spend each day on your AdWords advertising? You can experiment by entering different bids and budgets. For our purposes, let’s continue using the "skinny skinny jeans" example:
If we enter a bid of $1.50, we will be receiving 0.22-0.27 clicks per day and around 30 impressions. This may not seem like much, but the few people that do see your page will be targeted visitors.
If you were interested in running this campaign, we would click "save to account" at the upper right of the page. After you name your campaign, confirm your bid and daily budget and your campaign is live!
Step 6: Create an ad
This YouTube video will teach you everything you need to know about creating a compelling AdWords ad.
You will learn:
- How to ensure your ads are understandable.
- How to create a unique selling proposition.
- How to direct a customer to take action.
- The importance of testing.
- The structure of a good ad.
The benefits of using AdWords
If you have done your homework, there are many benefits to using Google AdWords:
- Targeted traffic: Unlike organic search engine traffic, AdWords traffic is targeted. This means that the people who click on your ad have searched specifically for your keyword. If you have found a good keyword, many of them will be ready to shop at your store.
- Simple to set up: As I have hopefully demonstrated, setting up Google AdWords is simple. It’s not easy, but it is fairly straightforward. The average online store owner with moderate computer skills will have no problem with it.
- You only pay for clicks: The only time you will pay for AdWords is if someone actually clicks on your ad. Compare this to taking out ad space in the newspaper — it's likely that most people won’t even see your ad! This sort of payment arrangement is a tremendous advantage.
- Greater control: You can set a daily budget and a specific bid. You can bid on one hundred keywords, or only one. You can test each ad and make small refinements to increase conversion. Simply put, AdWords gives you greater control over your marketing.
The downsides to using AdWords
However, there are some disadvantages to using AdWords:
- Google’s strict guidelines: Many users have had their AdWords accounts banned for violating Google’s policies. Some these reasons, such as direct linking to affiliate pages, are understandable. Other reasons, such as having a destination URL and a display URL on your ad that are completely different, seems a bit unfair. Make sure you check out Google’s AdWords Policy Center before you get started.
- You need basic marketing skills: You will need to have basic copywriting and marketing skills if you plan on using AdWords; otherwise you’ll be wasting your money. There’s no point in running an AdWords campaign if your ad — or your store’s home page for that matter — is terrible and won’t convert any visitors.
- The learning curve can be intimidating: As mentioned above, AdWords is not complicated, but you need to learn quite a few new concepts. If you are easily frustrated, then you will not enjoy the process.
Here are some more resources to help smooth out that intimidating learning curve:
Notable alternatives
If you are interested in alternatives to Google AdWords, here are a few options:
Bing
Pros
- Older user base: If your online store caters to an older crowd, Bing may be the better option. The search engine has more 35+ users and many more 55-64 users.
- Less competition: You’ll find that your ads will cost less on Bing. This is simply due to lower competition.
Cons
- Smaller network: The biggest reason why there is less competition on Bing is that there are fewer people using Bing, which means that fewer people will see your ad.
- Support: Although Google gets its fair share of stick for banning accounts, the support team is always prompt. This is not always the case with Bing. Some issues with ads have taken months to resolve.
7search
Pros
- New network: Compared to AdWords and Bing, 7search is tiny! This means that there is a lot more opportunity available to find a niche and exploit it.
- Much lower cost: Another huge advantage to using 7search is the much lower bid prices. Your ad will get more bang for your buck!
Cons
- Higher fraud: This is to be expected due to the size of the network; 7search simply does not have the resources of Google or Microsoft to combat fraud. You will have to study the logs of traffic you receive to determine whether or not it is junk. For this reason, 7search may not be the right network for store owners who are new to online advertising.
- Lower traffic: Again, due to its smaller size, 7search’s traffic volume cannot compete with AdWords or Bing. It is ideal for testing and specific targeted campaigns.
Facebook Ads
Pros
- Size: Facebook is enormous, and your ads are likely to be seen by thousands of people.
- Targeted: With Facebook Ads, you are able to target specific segments of the network. Considering how much time some people spend on Facebook (we all know a few Facebook addicts!) this could be a goldmine. But it does depend on the products that your online store sells. For example, products that cater to a younger demographic will likely outperform walking canes and remedies for arthritis.
Cons
- Less Reporting: One huge drawback to using Facebook Ads is that the reporting tools are nowhere near the quality you'll see on the other networks mentioned in this lesson.
- Social Aspect: People are not spending time on Facebook to research information or to buy products. They are spending their time talking to friends and being social. This explains why Facebook Ads' click-through rates (CTRs) are so much lower than AdWords.
At the end of the day, learning how to use AdWords will take some time and effort on your part. But it will be worth it — the opportunity to increase your sales and grow your online store is huge!
Interested in trying this out? Check out Google's free resources, which will help you run a successful campaign that will drive traffic to your store. You can also sign up for SaleHoo Stores now and receive a free $100 AdWords voucher. Limited time only!
Sign Up For SaleHoo Stores and Receive Your AdWords Voucher Now!
