Google AdWords Marketing

When businesses look to advertise many turn to the web and to social media. Why? Because businesses can reach potential customers anytime and anywhere. Seeing that roughly three-quarters of Americans now own smartphones, businesses are looking to capitalize on that statistic. One of the ways to do this is to invest in Google AdWords Marketing.

What is Google AdWords Marketing?

Chances are you use Google to look up just about anything and everything these days. Businesses use this simple task as part of their AdWords marketing strategy. Simply put, Google AdWords is Google’s online advertising program. AdWords allows you to create online ads to reach people just when they’re interested in your business or product. Google AdWords lets you to do this by allowing you to be seen just as someone is searching for your product on Google.

It’s a case of being in the right place at the right time. The only difference is not that it’s such a coincidence because Google AdWords is designed in a way to make it all work. You can choose to target people in certain countries or cities or within a certain distance of your business. The options are endless with Google AdWords.

How does Google AdWords Work?

Although the premise of Google AdWords is pretty simple, it can get complicated quickly. That’s why it’s important to use a Google Certified Company such as Portside Marketing so that you can get better results and get the most for your advertising dollars.

The way Google AdWords works is that you first need to build a list of keywords you think people would use to search for your type of business or product. You want to not only think like a customer, but also take things into consideration like selecting specific keywords to target specific customers and selecting general keywords to reach more people. After this is done, you write your ad. Now you’re ready for the keyword auction.

Everytime someone does a keyword search on Google, an Adwords auction is created. If you have a keyword that matches you get to compete in the auction. Businesses then bid on how much they are willing to pay to for a Google user to click on their ad. This bid is combined with a quality score Google assigns to your ad based on how good it is. The result determines what ads get placed where. The ones with the highest ad ranking will obviously go towards the top of the search page. The key is to have a high quality score to better position the placement of your ad.

Google AdWords Marketing Lingo

If you’re going to dive into the world of Google AdWords marketing, you need to understand certain terms that are often used in the conversation.

Keywords

This is the list of words you use for your ads to help determine where they will appear.

Quality Score

This is an estimate of your ads, keywords and landing pages. The more relevant your ads and landing pages are to the user, the greater your quality score. Your quality score plays a big role in where your ads are placed.

AdRank

This is the value used to decide where your ad is placed. It is determined using your quality score and bid amount.

Impressions

This is the term used to describe the number of times your ad appears on the screen. This will tell you how many people saw your ad. Remember, just because people physically saw the ad does not mean it is automatically hitting home with them.

CTR (Click through rate)

This refers to the number of clicks you receive on your ad per the number of impressions. You want to have a high CTR in order for your ad to be considered successful.

Tracking pixels

These are pixel-sized images that serve as tiny trackers of information such as number of website visits, sales conversions, and other web activity.

Ad groups

An ad group is your set of keywords, budget, and targeting methods to reach your goals.

How much does Google AdWords cost?

One of the best things about Google Adwords is that you set the budget. There is no standard flat fee or base price package. Payments can be setup with a credit card, debit card, or with a bank payment. You can sign up for free and then decide how much you want to spend advertising. You decide how much you’re willing to pay for your ad. This combined with your quality score will determine your AdRank.

Google looks at AdRanks to determine which ads get placed where. You only pay when someone clicks your ad to visit your website. So if no one is clicking you don’t pay a penny. But, don’t get too excited. That means your ad is not doing its job.

You want people to click on your ad because that means they are interested not only in your ad, but also in what services you’re providing.

Just because your competitor may have bid higher doesn’t necessarily mean their ad will get placed higher. You can still get a very good spot with a lower bid and highly relevant keywords and ads.

What makes a successful Google AdWords marketing campaign?

There are several things you can do to create a successful Google AdWords marketing campaign that stands out among the competition.

Write a solid ad. Simply put, something that is well-written and catchy will work better than something that’s boring and has poor grammar.

Carefully choose keywords. Think about each word you choose and whether or not a potential customer would also choose that word to search for your business.

Budget wisely. Some people set a budget they think will last them for weeks but in reality only lasts for days. Be realistic because it will affect your quality score and in turn your ad ranking.

Consult a professional. Truly understanding the ins and outs of Google AdWords is not easy. Turning to professionals, like the team at Portside Marketing can help you create a Google AdWords campaign that will benefit your business.

How do I know if Google AdWords is working?

Seeing that you’re only paying if someone is clicking, that is an immediate indication right there. Log into your Adwords account regularly to check the campaign status as well as your bid strategy status. Both of these will red flag any issues your ad may be having and will tell you how to fix them.