Google advertising, or paid search, has become a common component of many marketing programs. Google ads are structured as an auction where we bid on keywords. They’re free until someone clicks on our ads—thus, the term “pay-per-click advertising” (PPC). The cost of the keyword determines the cost of the click.
Effective way to drive traffic to your website, increase sales and brand recognition
PPC is fairly complex. I’ve been working with a client for the last year doing YouTube and Google ads, and I continue to learn. A lot of marketers throw their money at this without properly understanding, monitoring and adjusting their campaigns, so it may not be the best use of their marketing dollars. Google rakes in something obscene like $100M/day on digital advertising. Like Las Vegas, the house wins.
My goal is to drive a slow steady stream of traffic to our website
Our Google ad campaigns have been successful, according to our conservative goals. I’m careful to watch my keywords because the associated costs can change. One week a word can be worth $4, then the price can climb to $8 or more. I’m okay with $4, but not $8+. I watch our billing summary, and if it’s starting to get too expensive, I sometimes pause one of our campaigns to manage overall costs.
Increased traffic has resulted in more click-throughs and calls
The Google ad activity has translated to new business. We could do more, but ad campaign pricing can quickly start ballooning. Your impressions, clicks and calls may increase, but so do your costs. You decide how much you want to spend.
Here are some guidelines for creating a Google ad campaign
- Set a clear objective . What are your overall business/ad goals? Are you selling a product or a service? If signing up for your newsletter is your goal, this can be a tough sell.
- Create your ad infrastructure. The fields for campaign details, including location, are fairly robust. Key are audience demographics–gender, age, interests, industry, etc. Think about how your audience spends their free time, what they’re likely to be interested in.
- Keywords. The more words, the more specific the potential response. You’re qualifying your buyers. Fewer clicks, but a greater chance that users will meet your desired client profile.
- Identify your budget. How much do you want to spend? The billing for Google ads is confusing, though Google has just rolled out a new program that gives you more control of your spend.
- Conversion. If users are purchasing a product, it makes it easy to determine the effectiveness of your campaign. If you’re selling a service, it’s more difficult to quantify. Calls and clicks can be harder to measure.
- Landing page. You will need to create and optimize a landing page on your website. A strong call to action drives users to act.
Are you considering adding digital advertising to your marketing plan? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and digital marketing specialists.
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