Everyone wants to generate traffic to the website and convert visitors into new customers. The #1 strategy is creating content and linking, also known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
This strategy takes time. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) with Google Adwords is the best solution to grow that traffic in the short-term as you build your SEO Strategy. You can start running Google Ads in less than an hour and start generating leads immediately.
SEM gives smaller companies a chance to show at the top of a SERP (Search Engine Results Page), without having the content and search history of an established website.
Starting out there are 3 simple steps:
1. Set a budget. Budgets can start out small and scale up over time.
2. Patience. Take your time, don’t get too hasty. Patience will save you a lot of money and allow you to make necessary edits to optimize your campaigns.
3. Keep in simple. Start off basic, keep variations to a minimum.
Google Ads Structure
1. Keywords/Negative Keywords
2. AdGroups
3. Campaigns
Google Ads Keywords:
Let us start off granular and then take a broader look. Keywords are the words/group of words in which you want your ad to display on Google when someone is searching. Keywords come in three forms: Broad Match, Phrase Match, Exact Match.
- Broad Matches allows a google search to match your keyword if it generally matches. For Example: if the search term were (hats) and it could show up for keywords (sun hats, sombreros, ball cap)
- Phrase Match only displays when someone search has that phrase within it. Example: Your phrase match keyword is “Pizza Delivery” This would trigger your ad to display for searches on “Pizza Delivery near me” “Best Pizza Delivery”. It would not display for “Delivery Pizza Near Me” because the phrase is not in the correct order.
- Exact Match only displays when someone’s search is a 100% match to your keyword. No additional words or variations of the phrase can be in the search.
Broad Matches are the cheapest option for CPC (Cost per Click). This is because you will get a wider range of searchers (higher impressions) but tend to have a lower click/conversion rate. Phrase Matches will have a higher CPC and Exact Match even higher. These types of matches narrow down the individuals that will see your ads and will make them more qualified conversions.
Don’t know what keywords you should be targeting? Talk to a PPC expert. The number one mistake companies make is assuming they know how their customers search.
Google Ads Adgroup:
Next, let us discuss Adgroups. Keywords grouped together by adgroups. Adgroups lets you target specific keywords/phrases giving you more control. Starting Adwords for the first time SKAG or Single Keyword Ad Groups is a great place to start. SKAGs give the individual the most control over ad spend through easier evaluation of CTR, quality scores, and ad copy.
A variety of ads are created within the adgroup that display when triggered by a keyword. Each keyword will develop a quality score that takes into consideration multiple factors. Statistically, the higher the quality score the lower the cost per conversion.
Factors that go into your Quality Score.
- Landing Pages – Is the content on the landing page relevant to the search
- Ad Relevancy – Is the ad served relevant to the search
- Keywords – Relevance of each keyword to the ad group
- Click-Through-Rate (CTR) – The percentage of those that click on your ad. The higher the CTR the better
- Historical Google Ads Account Performance
Google Ads Campaigns:
Ad campaigns are a set of Ad groups comprised of targeted keywords/phrases. Campaigns are the highest level where the overall settings are defined. At the campaign level, you can set target locations, bid structure, daily budget, languages, distribution, and more.
Multiple campaigns are utilized when targeting multiple locations. Campaigns can be created to target larger geographical regions, like the United States, however specific locations will take up most of the budget. This is due to the value of the keyword.
Google Ad Campaign Example:
The term “Skinny Jean” could cost $2.00 when targeting less popular areas and smaller towns, but when targeting larger cities like New York the price could be $6. Creating multiple campaigns with identical ad groups and different geolocations provides the user with the flexibility to adjust ad spend per location. This is crucial when taking into consideration the margin of sales.
If you profit $30 per sale and each campaign takes 5 clicks to make a sale, then which campaign should you run?
Campaign 1 ($2)
$2*5(clicks) = $10 cost for $30 revenue = $20 profit
Campaign 2 ($6)
$6*5(clicks) = $30 cost for $30 revenue = $0 profit
Creating the perfect ad campaign takes constant evaluation. Understanding the basics will help you get started in creating your first campaign. Google Ads can be confusing and if not properly managed, expensive. Whether you are starting an ad campaign for the first time or looking to improve existing ads, consult an expert.