Advertising on Google is an important part of any businesses digital marketing portfolio. Google makes it easy for businesses to open, manage and understand their advertising. The Google Advertising model works on a cost per click basis. Once you have opened a Google Adwords account there are 3 tips for creating and managing a successful Google campaign.

The 3 Tips:

1.Keyword Research & Adgroups.

A good keyword plan is essential to a successful Adwords Campaign. What words do people type into a Google search box when they are looking for a product or service that you are selling? If I own a Stationery Supply Store for example I would think about my biggest sellers and my location, my keywords would look something like this: “Pens, pen refills, printer paper, white board markers, printer ink cartridges, Stationers Johannesburg”

 A great tool to help you with your research is the Google Keyword Planner. https://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home

This is a step-by-step tool to use, which helps you create a keyword plan as well as your adgroups. It will also tell you how popular a keyword is. The more popular the keyword, the more you are likely to have to bid for it.

Your Adgroups will contain all your keywords. So if I am selling pens I would structure my adgroups so all relevant keywords are contained therein:

Adgroup: PENS. Keywords: FELT TIP PENS, PEN REFILLS, FOUNTAIN PENS, STABILO PENS, and ROLLERBALL PENS. I would do the same for any other products I wish to advertise.

2.Targeting

Google Adwords allows you to target your audience more than any print or TV advert will. Are you a restaurant catering for businesses in Durban? Why not show your ads just before lunchtime and Dinner on weekdays and only advertise to people in Durban? You can select your hours “10-12am then from 3-6pm” “Monday –Friday” and set your location as “Durban, South Africa”. This means your budget is likely to last longer and be shown to a more relevant audience.

3. Reports

It is important to look at your reports. Google Adwords has fantastic reporting tools. The most important metrics to look at in your Google Campaign are:

  1. Impressions – how many times your advert gets seen
  2. Quality Score – What does Google think of the relevancy of your advert in relation to your website and the quality of your keywords. Always aim for a 10/10 score. A good quality score gives you added benefits of higher ad ranks and lower cost per click.
  3. Clicks: This metric shows you how many people have clicked on your advert. This is an indication of how relevant your advert is to your keyword. Is your advert enticing enough to get clicked on?

There are many factors to building and running a successful Adwords campaign. These tips will help get you started. Google Help is a very good tool for understanding how Google Adwords works, the different functions and explaining the terms. Companies such as Web Smart take the hassle out of running your own Pay Per Click advertising (link to PPC PAGE). They run Google Adwords for all sizes of businesses and all sizes of budget. If you have any queries on your Google Adwords Campaign, contact Web Smart today.

Prepared by Jess Shaw