Congratulations on having the ambition to start your very first Google Adwords campaign. You stand to make a lot of money with Adwords, if you follow the important ingredients for success. To succeed with Adwords, you need patience, research and know-how. If you plan for long-term success, if you really dig into the research to make sure you have the most effective ads imaginable and if you follow in the footsteps of all the Google Adwords experts who have come before you, you will soon be on your way to killing it with your first Google Adwords campaign.
Sign Up
To begin, you must point your browser to http://adwords.google.com. From there, simply follow the steps for setting up your account.
Set Up A Test Campaign
The experts recommend that you set up a test campaign before you get started with a real Google Adwords campaign. The first step to creating any campaign is to set an advertising budget you can work with. According to the experts, you should set aside a thirty to sixty day test period and you must have the budget set up to do so. The budget should be high enough so that it elicits enough data to help you craft your first real campaign. If you set your budget too low, you may not get an adequate representation as to the effectiveness of your Google Adwords campaign. You are looking for ad impressions. Get enough impression and you’ll know where to tweak or improve your ads for your initial campaign effort.
Set Up Campaign Goals
What are you trying to accomplish with your first campaign? Are you trying to sell more products? Are you trying to gain new leads? Maybe you are trying to gain more subscribers or perhaps you want to just spread your brand far and wide. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you’d like your Google Adwords campaigns to do for you. This way you are bound to stay on track from beginning to success and beyond.
Keyword Research is Key
Well-researched keywords are the backbone of any Google Adwords campaign. Find the keyword research tool within your Google Adwords account and start typing in keywords that your audience might use to find you, your products and/or services. You can also add competitor websites in order to receive keyword suggestions from Google.
You are looking for keywords that have a high number of searches each month, but that have the lowest amount of competition. We will get to this more in a moment.
Group Relevant Keywords
When you have a long list of keywords, start grouping those into Google Adwords groups. For instance, if you have a furniture store in Seattle, Washington, you’ll want to group all keywords and keyword variations that have to do with that keyword term into one Google Adword group. These might include ‘furniture store, Seattle, Washington’, ‘Furniture store, Seattle WA’, ‘Seattle, Washington furniture store’, ‘Seattle wa furniture stores’, etc.
Match Types
You must select the match types of each of your keywords. These include exact match, phrase match, broad match and negative keywords. Set these accordingly so that you get as much benefit from your Google Adwords campaigns as possible.
Text Ads
Once you have completed your keyword research, you will be ready to craft your Google Adwords ads. Start developing compelling calls-to-action that will entice people to click on your ads. When crafting headlines, focus on your keyword and try to match the target search query as best you can. Your calls-to-action should be in lines two and three of your ad.
Here’s a little tip from the experts. In the display URL, you should include your URL and a keyword, if you can fit it. The destination URL should be a landing page that matches the language and tone of your ad. Don’t surprise your audience. Your ads should give your prospects an idea about where they’re going so that they’re more inclined to buy, subscribe or otherwise act once they get there.
Geo Targeting and Google Adwords Campaign Networks
Go into your Google Adwords campaign settings and choose the geographical area where you would like your ads to appear. If you rely on local customers, you may want to choose the Seattle, Washington area. If you are looking for a US audience, choose a nationwide setting. You can also limit your ads to only show up on Google’s Search Engine and not on the display network. Just uncheck the display option under the networks section.
Put these expert tips into action and you’ll soon have a highly-performing Google Adwords campaign that boosts your sales, subscriber list or overall business. Just remember to do the research, have patience and put this know-how to work for you, future successful Google Adwords advertiser.