Overview of Google Adwords
Google Adwords is Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. Using PPC wisely, you can transform a no-traffic website into a high-traffic profit machine literally overnight. However, you can also waste a whole lot of money if you don't plan your PPC campaign carefully.
Let me fist explain what PPC advertising is. Basically, it's a form of advertising in which you create a small 2-3 line text-based advertisement. The ad will have a headline, which is clickable and links to your website.
Here's an example:
Top Cruise Deals
Great deals on all types of cruises
30% discounts for online purchases
www.your-url.com
You can see examples of these ads in action by going to Google.com and running a search on any search term. After you run your search, you'll find the PPC ads on the right-hand side of the screen. The owners of each of the ads pay Google a fee each time someone clicks on their ad. This fee can be anywhere from .10 cents to several dollars depending on the popularity and demand of the keyword.
The goal of the ad owner is to maximize the number of quality clicks. A quality click is a click from someone that has an interest in what you're trying to sell. A low-quality click is a click from someone that really doesn't have any interest in what you're trying to sell.
Since the space in the Google Sponsored Links area is limited (about 10 slots per page), and the number of people using PPC to advertise their products is fairly large, there has to be a way of controlling who gets what placement (also called Adrank) in the Sponsored Links hierarchy.
Google controls this placement by 3 mechanisms:
1) Keywords/keyphrases
2) Bid price
3) Quality Score
The goal is to get your ad in the Sponsored Links section of the first page (or at most the second page) of the returned Google search results. That means your ad can be anywhere in the Sponsored Links position from 1-10, or 1-20 if you take into account the second page. People don’t normally search beyond the first couple of pages of returned search results, so having your ad appear on the third page (or beyond) diminishes your chances of the ad being seen.
To get your ad in the first or second page of Google’s Sponsored Links, and to maximize the number of quality clicks, you need 3 things:
1) Good Keywords/keyphrases
2) Bid in an active bid range
3) Good Quality Score
Using Good Keywords/Keyphrases:
Keywords (or keyphrases) are the words that people type into Google when they run a search. You need to select the keywords that relate to your product so Google will know when to display your ad. From your perspective (the online Marketer), good keywords are the words that relate to your product. For example, if you run a Google PPC ad campaign and you're selling a course on how to train dogs, then a good keyword list might consist of:
dog
"Dog training"
"Train my dog"
"Training for dogs"
"dog obedience"
"dog growling"
Note: using quotes instructs Google to show your ad only when the searched keywords appear in that particular order.
The above keyword list is then applied to your Google PPC campaign. Now, every time a user runs a search for any of these keywords on Google, your ad COULD be returned in the 'Sponsored Links' section of the returned search results in Google.
As we mentioned previously, the keywords are not the only determining factor governing which ads appear in Google. Keep in mind, there are likely many other people running their own PPC campaigns that have the same keywords as you. And since there are only about 10 slots to place the sponsored ads in Google's first page, the ads that get a position in one of those 10 slots are the ads that are willing to pay the most for each click and the ads that have the higher Quality Score.
A good way to find keywords for your product is to use the Google Adwords Keyword Finder at: https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=KeywordSandbox
Bidding in an Active Bid Range:
All popular (and many not so popular) keywords have an active bid range. The active bid range is the cost per click (CPC) range that results in your ad appearing in a preferred position within Google’s Sponsored Links area (usually position 1-20). Obviously, the higher your ad is in the position, the more active (more clicks) will likely result.
So how much should you pay for each click to make sure you're ad is in the actice bid range? You should first find out what the going rate is for that particular keyword. You can get a good idea of what people are willing to pay for a given keyword by using Overture’s Bid Tool at: http://uv.bidtool.overture.com/d/search/tools/bidtool/
Note: your goal is to get a position anywhere on the first page of the Google search result, or second page at most, so you really don’t have to make sure you have the highest bid. In fact, you can even make more money by bidding much lower than the highest bid. For example, say you’re bidding on the “dog training” keyphrase and you find that the 1st position for that keyphrase is going for $1.50 per click. You may very well find that the 4th or 5th position is going for $0.30 - $0.40 per click. In this case, I would opt for the 4th or 5th position. The cost savings is quite significant.
Getting High Quality Score:
What is a Quality Score? Well, it’s a few things... The Quality Score is derived from the keywords Click Through Rate (CTR), relevance of the text in the ad to the keyword, how well the keywords has performed in the past, and other things that Google has kindly decided not to share. Since there are some unknown factors here, it’s best to focus on what you can do to increase your Quality Score.
One thing you can do is aim for a high Click Through Rate (CTR). A CTR is a percentage that is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of times your ad appeared. For example, say your ad appeared 100 times, and out of those 100 times, 1 person clicked on your ad. Your CTR for that ad would then be 1/100=1%.
Another thing you can do is make sure your ad's text is relevant to the keyword. For example, if you were advertising a dog training course and your keyword was “cars”, then the relevancy of the keyword to the ad is low.
All right, that’s the basics of Google Adwords. Give it a try! There's no better way to learn than through doing!
Michael Ellis is an Internet technology expert that specializes in marketing products and services online. Be sure to visit Michael's website Internet Marketing articles, tips and discussion forums.
Want a quality website critique? Simply post a request in Michael's Internet Marketing Forum to get a valuable review of your website.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- How to make money with Google Adwords & Clickbank
1. Get your own free clickbank account at www.clickbank.com.Clickbank is the company that will - 5 Steps to Starting a Successful Google Adwords Campaign
They have more time to do the things they really enjoy in life. What they all learned is to work sma - 5 Steps to a Successful Adwords Campaign
1. Find A Product2. Keyword Research3. Ad Copy4. Bidding Strategies5. Tracking & TestingLet's ex - Failing with Google Adwords Can Help You Master Internet Advertising
If you have taken the time to research search engine placement, methods of obtaining a high search e - What Is Pay Per Click Marketing And How Can It Benefit My Business?
I could write a lot of pages, maybe even a book explaining what pay per click marketing is and what - Organize Your Adwords Account to Get More Visitors, Lower Your Cost Per Click and Increase ROI
Keeping your Adwords account organized is very important. It can make it easy for you to find your A - Is Google Adwords The Right Advertising Method For You?
This is the easiest way to generate traffic, and retain your profits. Google Adwords is a great meth - Some Adwords Basics for Beginners
At ICMediaDirect.com I use this experience to give clients advice that saves them money. No tw - 4 Quick and Easy Insider Tips To Turbo-Charge Your Google Adwords Sales
If you want to boost your clickthrough rates and slash your advertising costs moments from now, then - Increase Sales and Make Money Using Google's Adwords
Therefore, it may be a good idea to pay Google to send focused traffic to your website. This can be
Most viewed articles in this category:
- AdWords compare to other ways of getting traffic
Then you need optimize your website so that it can get some traffic. There some ways to optimize to - What's the best way to organize my ad campaigns and groups?
Every advertising medium has characteristics that give it natural advantages and limitations. Observ - So you want to run a Pay-per-Click Campaign?
According to Google, all it takes is $5.00 and a credit card and you can begin to run your own Pay p - 10 Inside Secrets to Google Adwords - Part 2
Are you frustrated with spending your hard-earned money on Google Adwords and losing more money than - Is Google Adwords The Right Advertising Method For You?
This is the easiest way to generate traffic, and retain your profits. Google Adwords is a great meth - How to improve bottom line when using AdWords and AdSense PPC?
Many search engines provides an inexpensive advertising venue for businesses to advertise products o - Google Adwords - Manipulating Keywords For Success
As you probably know, Google Adwords is a pay-per-click solution offered by Google. As with other PP - What Is Pay Per Click Marketing And How Can It Benefit My Business?
I could write a lot of pages, maybe even a book explaining what pay per click marketing is and what - What The Gurus Didn't Tell You About Google Adwords
Now if you have been marketing online for awhile you have probably heard of Google Adwords. Basicall - Organize Your Adwords Account to Get More Visitors, Lower Your Cost Per Click and Increase ROI
Keeping your Adwords account organized is very important. It can make it easy for you to find your A