Google Adwords: Creating a Successful PPC Strategy

An earlier post discussed some basics of Google Adwords, so you should read that post if you haven’t already.  Today, I’d like to move forward in our discussion of using Google Adwords to drive more traffic to your website.

Selecting Appropriate Keywords

Obviously, from our last discussion, keyword selection is critical for success — they bring targeted traffic to your site and have a huge impact on how much you pay per click.  In fact, the 5 most EXPENSIVE keywords are:

• insurance
• loans
• mortgage
• attorney
• credit

That’s because so many people search for these keywords and so many advertisers want the same keywords (competition). If you operate in these industries, you need a lot of creativity to avoid high CPC. By the same token, you don’t want to choose keywords just because they’re cheap — because there are few users searching for the terms.

What you want are keywords with relatively high search volume and low competition.

It’s a balancing act.  But, where do you get information on the number of searches and competition? Google provides a free Keyword Tool to guide AdWords users.  This tool is powered by Google search to give very accurate numbers of global and local searches for particular keywords.  The tool also gives suggests alternate keywords and you can sort results to determine which are the most searched keywords.

If you want more information, try Nobel Samurai’s tool,  Market Samurai.  Market Samurai gives you a lot more information on keywords to help make good decisions about which terms to use in your Google Adwords to maximize your traffic and minimize your cost.  You can sign up for a free trial to see if Market Samurai is right for you.

Elements of a Successful Adwords Ad

In addition to using the right keywords, other elements create successful Adwords ads.

1. Offer – at its core, an Adwords ad is a short sales message so you want to make a clear offer that motivates consumers to click on your ad.  And, make your offer explicit — tell folks what you expect them to do.  You might offer a discount if consumers click on your ad or give them something free.
2. Link your Adwords ad to a landing page, not your home page.  The landing page should reinforce the offer made in the Adwords ad and make an argument for why the consumer needs this product.  If you’ve advertised a particular product in your Adwords ad, the landing page should include images and information about that SPECIFIC product.  Don’t make visitors hunt for the item they came looking for.
3. Create a compelling story – paint a verbal picture of how your product solves problems for the consumer.
4. Use action words.
5. Use vivid, emotional language.  Your copy should elicit an emotional response by using clear, easy-to-understand language with a minimum of jargon and abbreviations.
6. Test alternate copy – sure, with a little experience, you’ll get better at creating Adwords ads, but you still need to test alternate versions of the ad because no one can tell, with absolute confidence, what language will best motivate consumers.  Luckily, Google Adwords is set up to easily create and test copy, providing metrics to show which ad does better.

OK, enough for today.  Tomorrow we’ll explore more about Google Adwords — specifically looking at the Google Adwords format (which is very stylized) and creating ads.

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