The Beginners Guide : Google Adwords e-book A Key Principles publication
The Beginners Guide: Google Adwords By Jackie Key, Managing Director, Key Principles About the Author Jackie Key is the Managing Director of Key Principles. She has over 20 years experience in Marketing and over 10 years experience implementing online marketing, PPC and SEO. She is a Google Adwords Advanced Search Certified Consultant. She works with businesses of all sizes from FTSE100 companies to medium size businesses, as well as small owner managed businesses and start-ups. Through creative, integrated marketing, she has helped companies grow with a primary focus on generating more leads and sales. (Jackie is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has an MBA from Warwick University.)
Contents What is Google Adwords Search Network Vs Display Network Why You Would Use Google Adwords How Google Adwords is Different to SEO Who Does Google Adwords Work For? How Your Advert Appears Key Elements To Consider The Benefits of Using Key Principles Glossary Conclusion 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 13 14
What Is Google Adwords All businesses seek to gain more customers. You may have used direct mail, email marketing, social media campaigns, word or mouth or print advertising to gain the customers that you have now. Google Adwords allows you to extend your reach even further. With 97% of consumers researching products online*, it is vital to use search engines to your advantage. When your potential customer is searching for your product online you want your company to be the website that they find and convert to a lead or sale. Google Adwords is part of the online advertising strategy of pay-per-click, also known as PPC. This literally means that you pay for every click on your advert. Costs can vary from as low as 0.01p per click to as high as 70 and more for extremely competitive keywords. Google s definition of Google Adwords: A powerful online advertising tool can help you reach new customers who are searching for products or services like yours. Grow sales and maximize return on investment by targeting your ads to a relevant audience on search engines, websites and mobile devices. In short, Google Adwords allows you to reach a wider potential audience and promote your business to potential clients currently searching for your product or service. There are two main types of advertising on Google, via the Search Network or the Display Network. *Geddes, B. 2012 3
Search Network Vs Display Network Google allows you to target your ideal customer via two methods. When starting a new campaign, Google will ask you to specify which method you would like to use and therefore it is important to understand the differences between them. The Search Network This is the search sites owned by Google that will show your ad. For example, if a consumer types in your product on a Google Search site such as www.google.co.uk, you ad will appear on the search results page. You may only use text ads on the Search Network. Within the Search Network you have the option of selection Search Partners. These are other Google owned search networks such as Google Shopping, Maps, Images, Groups and search partner site AOL. The Display Network This is a group of over a million websites that have partnered with Google to show/display your ad. Your ad will be automatically matched to websites and where your keyword is relevant to the sites content. You may want to target specific sites and pages that will be seen by your ideal customer. Within the Display Network, you may use text ads or image ads. There are 12 suitable image sizes for the Display Network and this will ensure that you ad will be seen in the correct placement on the page of your choice. Remarketing is created and implemented through the Display Network and this helps you appear to those customers that have visited your website but haven t converted. Tip: Never pick both Search & Display Network together. This is an option available; however we would never recommend it as it makes optimisation more difficult. 4
Why You Would Use Google Adwords We believe that PPC is the best way to reach your target audience in the mostly cost effective manner. Google has created a search engine network that generates over 100 billion searched per month* and is therefore the ideal advertising platform for businesses of all sizes. (* searchengineland.com, 2012.) If you are a small business, Google Adwords allows you to compete with your biggest competitor in equal measure. With a complex algorithm that means that it s not simply the case of the highest bid wins; Google actually rewards relevance. This means that small businesses can be seen by their ideal customer instead of being lost in the organic search results (where space is becoming more and more limited). Google Adwords lets you appear at the very start of the results page, ensuring that you are one of the first seen. You can get your promotional offer across to them straight away and use a compelling advert to persuade them to visit your website. Whether you a local plumber, a national press agency, flower boutique, restaurant chain or regional accountancy firm, Google Adwords can become your ideal online advertising tool. The great benefits of Google Adwords: Appear to those currently searching for your product or service Set daily budgets to ensure you stay within your advertising budget Compete in equal measure with your competitors Gain more sales and leads Key Principles helped us reduce our cost by 80% Butler Evans 5
How Google Adwords Is Different From SEO There has been some confusion between PPC/Google Adwords and SEO and we would like to clear up the issue. The only similarity between the two is that they both help your position on the search engines. Everything else about them is different. Google Adwords Google Adwords is also known as PPC. Google Adwords relates to your adverts on the search results page. The ads appear above and to the right of the natural/organic searches. You pay if your ad only if your ad is clicked on. Google Adwords is a process of creating an advert, targeting keyword, selecting location and bid strategy for your adverts to appear. Google Adwords is a proactive online advertising. Allows you to compete with major competitors who may have taken the top organic search positions. Allows you to make the first move to reach your ideal customer. SEO SEO is also known as Search Engine Optimisation. SEO affects your natural/organic search listing on the search results page. The natural/organic search listings appear below the Google Adwords Ads. You do not pay to appear as an organic search result. SEO is a process of researching keywords and updating pages to target keywords, as well as creating positive signals about your content. SEO is an on-going website development strategy. This can help you increase your natural/organic Google search position. We would recommend implementing both Google Adwords and SEO to ensure that your customers and prospects find you. However you can decide to only implement one and not the other. This absolutely possible and will not affect the other. 6
7 Who Does Google Adwords Work For? Google Adwords can work for any business or organisation whose customers use computers. I m sure you are now saying, well that s everyone then, and you are right. When used correctly, Google Adwords can be used by any business, whether you are selling a service or a product. It doesn t matter where you are in the world, Google Adwords can work for you. That s not to say it s easy for everyone. Some sectors will see high levels of competition, such as Insurance, but when managed correctly even the most competitive sectors can develop highly profitable returns. Depending on what sector you are in, you may find different aspects of Google Adwords more beneficial and fitting with your business needs. For example if you are a fashion retailer, you may find that Google Product Listing ads are best. If you want to generate more visitors to your site, Adwords may be your most favourable solution. But on the flipside, if you find that you have many visitors but they do not convert, you may want to use Remarketing and Dynamic Remarketing to persuade visitors to come back to you. If you are an international company and sell some products and services abroad, you too can benefit from Google Adwords. The multi lingual platform will allow for multiple languages per account, therefore you can advertise and promote your product or service through the one platform; creating an easy to manage and update online advertising campaign on a worldwide scale. There will always be a Google service that will help generate more leads and sales for your business. Simply define your marketing objectives and find the best Google Adwords service for you. Sectors that we have worked with using Google Adwords include: Insurance Letting Agents Estate Agents IT Systems Integrator Phone Repairs Industrial Products Waste Management Agencies Professional Services Renewable Heating Hospitality Home Appliances IT Reseller
How Your Advert Appears Google Search Network 8
Google Display Network Image Ad Text Ad 9
Key Elements To Consider Google Adwords is made up of accounts, campaigns, ad groups, adverts, keywords and targeting options. When all of these factors are implemented correctly you will have a successful Adwords campaign and will start generating leads and sales. Campaign A Google Adwords account will be set up with separate campaigns. The number of campaigns depends on how many products and services you offer. We generally recommend one product or service per campaign in a similar fashion as your products and services are displayed on your website. Ad Groups Within your campaign, you will have a range of Ad Groups. Once again, the number of Ad Groups depends on the variables of your product or service and how you wish to promote and target them. Ad Groups are used to filter down your product/service into more niches which your keywords can help target to your relevant customers. Keywords You will set a range of keywords per Ad Group. These keywords will be used by Google to target your advert to your ideal customer. Tip: The more specific the keyword the more likely your ad will appear to your ideal customer. This leads to better conversion rates and sales. 10
Ads Each Ad Group requires an advert. This ad is made up of a headline, two lines of descriptive text and a URL. Your keyword should appear at least once in the ad as well as your USP e.g. price, offer, free delivery, 20% off, certified, etc You want the advert to be compelling to entice your potential customer to visit you site and become a sale. Negative Phrases Negative phrases or keywords are used so that your ad doesn t appear when these words are included in the search term. This can be an endless list, with thousands of different variations of keywords. Tip: If you want to concentrate on only sales and you do not want people clicking on your ad who are comparison shopping, you may want to ad review or compare prices as part of your negative phrases. Budget & Bids Decided what budget you are ready to invest with Google per day. We can recommend a set amount to spend based on Google s recommendation, but a limit can be set to suit your business needs. The second step is setting up bid prices, also known as Cost-Per-Click (CPC). This is the maximum amount you are preapred to pay per single click on your Google Ad. Tip: The Keyword Planner Tool in Google Adwords can provide you with estimates of how much your CPC should be in order to gain maximum leads. 11
The Benefits Of Using Key Principles As Google Partners, and with all of our consultants, Google Adwords Advanced Search Certified, we provide the very best service that Google has to offer. We strongly believe that online advertising is the most effective way to generate leads and sales for your business. We have worked with businesses across the UK helping them grow using Google Adwords and we can do the same for you. 8 Reasons To Use Key Principles More leads guaranteed! We ve helped out clients reach more customers and gain more leads and sales, we can do the same for you. Key Principles has helped grow our leads by 20%. Dedicated account management to ensure that your Google Adwords account is in safe hands. Tailored reporting we provide tailored monthly reports so that you are always aware of how your account in progressing. Proven track record with Google Partner status, all our consultants Google Adwords certified and over eight years experience you can rest assured your Adwords account is in trusted hands. Potential savings of 80% - if you ve been managing your own Google Adwords account, we can help cut your costs Comprehensive optimisation and management our proven process for optimisation will ensure that your online marketing campaign is running at its most optimal level. You maintain ownership unlike some agencies, we do not claim ownership of your account. Therefore providing you with peace of mind that you are in control of the future of your Adwords account. Fixed Fees we don t base our fees on your Google spend, therefore we will be aiming to reduce your daily spend with Google, not looking to increase it! 12
Glossary Clicks This is the number of people that have clicked on your Google Adwords Adverts. Impressions This is the number of people that have seen your Google Adword Adverts after having completed a search query. Conversion This is the amount of times your goal has been completed. For example: requested a quote, downloaded a white paper or got in contact. Cost per Conversion This is how much it has cost you per conversion. The lower the cost the better. CTR Also known as Click-Through-Rate. This is shown as a percentage of how many people clicked your Advert compared with how many people have seen it. CPC Also known as Cost-Per-Click. This is an average cost you are paying for a click. Cost This is how much you have spent on the set period with Google. It is an accumulation of the CPC and Clicks. Search Terms These are terms added to your campaigns which are used to attract search queries. Position This is a scoring system between 1-10, where 1 is the best and 10 is the worst. The lower the score, the higher your advert appears on the Google Adwords ranking system. Negatives These are terms added to your campaign which you do not want to be found for. This is used so that your advert isn t directed to the wrong audience, and only those who are interested in what you are offering see your advert. 13
The Beginners Guide: Google Adwords Conclusion Google Adwords is a great way of generating more leads and sales instantly. However it is not an easy thing to do and many people (even professional marketers) become confused in the Google world. It is for this reason that we decided to create this ebook to give you a brief insight into the Google Adwords world and what it can offer your business. I would like to note that Google Adwords is not the only platform for online advertising. There are many other networks available, such as Bing and Yahoo search engines as well as social media advertising on Facebook and Twitter. However we have found that Google provides the best results for all businesses, no matter the industry or sector. It s important to remember why you want to advertise, what your sales and marketing goals are and who you want to reach before starting your campaign. This will ensure that you are using the right Google service and have some clear objectives around to judge your success. This is an introduction to Adwords. There is plenty more functionality with Google Adwords system that needs considering to ensure that your campaign is accurate, targeted and generating a high ROI. There are also plenty of other services within the Adwords system, like YouTube advertising which can be taken advantage of with the right Google Partner. 14
Want to generate more leads and sales with Google Adwords? Want to grow your business using Key Principles? Yes, of course you do and Key Principles is here to help. Our services focus on lead generation through online advertising and PPC such as Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook Advertising and Twitter Advertising and more. Request Your Free Quote Today! Risk free, no obligation and a guaranteed reply in 24 hours! Connect with us for regular marketing and Adwords tips KeyPrinciplesMarketing @KeyPrinciples www.linkedin.com/in/jackiekey T: 0845 8800 0202 hello@keyprinciples.co.uk