Google is how people find things on the web. If you're looking for leads, Google is the best place to be. Google's Ad Words (pay-per-click) advertising can put you in the limelight. Buying placement on Google is exciting. It's also expensive. The question becomes, can it help my business and can I afford it? The key is to do it in a way where it pays for itself.
Buying placement on Google sounds easy. How can we miss sending qualified prospects directly to our web sites? The problem becomes getting new clients while staying with budget. This article explains the necessary steps to run a successful Google Ad Words campaign:
Step One: Decide On Your Ad Words Campaign Budget
Google talks dollars per day. That's how they work. The first things you need to decide are: 1) What is your budget per day, 2) What are the starting and ending days of your campaign. Here is what I recommend: start your campaign at $15 per day. |
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Write a newspaper-style classified ad. Unlike a classified ad, the goal is NOT to entice as many clicks as possible. The goal is to write an ad that only QUALIFIED PROSPECTS respond to. If only one qualified prospect clicks on your ad for every thousand times it is viewed, that's OK. You only pay for clicks, not views. Here is what I recommend: create three ads within each Ad Group. Test the headline and text lines. Then you'll find out what combination of words sells the best. Delete non-performing ads and test new ones.
Step Four: Create Your Landing Page
Your landing page is where people go AFTER they click on your Google ad. Note: DON'T SEND THEM TO YOUR HOME PAGE. Clicks are just too expensive to build traffic. People arrive from Google with an expected outcome. If the don't see what they are looking for, they're out of there. People will not hunt. Make sure your landing page represents the end of their search! |
Begin on the first day of the next month and end it two months later. Your total commitment is 60 days x 15 dollars. That gives you enough time to decide if your campaign is working or not.
Step Two: Setup Your Ad Groups
An Ad Groups is a logical division within a campaign. Ad Groups are where you assign search terms. Google advertising is a rifle, not a shotgun. You want only specific search terms. You just want people looking for EXACTLY what you sell. Each click costs money. If your prospect clicks your ad and doesn't find what they want, it is a HUGE waste of money. Pick search terms that narrowly target what you sell. You don't want job seekers for example. Here is what I recommend: create four Ad Groups within your campaign. Have each Ad Group's target one of your products or services. Assign keywords to each Ad Group that deal specifically with that product.
Step Three: Setup Your Google Ads
Google ads appear at the top and right of the Google search results page. Here is what you get: 1) 25 character for the ad title, 2) 70 characters of text, and 3) a link to your site. |
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The landing page is THE most important aspect of your online campaign because it does the selling. It must close. It costs money (about one dollar per click) to bring people to this point. Now you need to make your offer. Viewers expect you to close them. Here is what I recommend: make one landing page for each Ad Group. Make sure it includes everything people need to make a decision. Make it match the keywords and ad copy precisely. Give it a powerful headline, compelling copy, interesting images, and a specific call to action.
Step Five: Count Your Results And Adjust Your Campaign
Clicks aren't cheap so COUNT YOUR RESULTS (see table above). Know what Ad Groups perform. Know what ads (within the Ad Groups perform). Know the closing ratio (views versus submissions) of each landing page. Google doesn't count for you. We do that on our end. Counting is our responsibility.
A successful Google campaign requires these five steps. To succeed, a pay-per-click campaign must translate into new customers. Google merely provides the vehicle. They don't close prospects. The web is a new and different form of advertising. Subtlety doesn't work. If you're looking to get the word out on a specific product or service, Google advertising may be the perfect thing for you - but you have to do it right. |
