Google AdWords is the Smartest and Cheapest Way to Advertise Online

Do you want higher website and in-store traffic, but don’t want to spend a fortune to increase your brand awareness? Consider giving Google AdWords a try. Google has the highest market share of the pay-per-click networks, encompassing over 2 million individual websites and counting. Also, over 90% of global internet users are on the Google Display Network.

The average cost-per-click for ads in AdWords is 1 dollar. But, the average ROI for businesses of all sizes and across industries is 2 dollars. That’s a staggering 200% return.

You can craft ads that will show up on the Google search results, display video ads for Youtube viewers, and send unobtrusive, relevant advertisements to user’s inboxes in Gmail. Small businesses have found that Google AdWords is the cheapest and fastest way to advertise online and get their business in front of qualified leads.

But how can you keep your costs low, and get the best ROI on your campaigns?

First, you need to understand how AdWords works, and how to optimise your ads correctly. That way, you’ll invest in the ads with the greatest conversion rates and pare back ones that don’t convert.

How does Adwords work?

If you have a website or domain and want a comprehensive and highly detailed way to craft and manage your campaigns, you’ll want to create an AdWords account. If you don’t have a website, don’t worry; you can still take advantage of all the benefits an AdWords campaign can give you with an AdWords Express account. Simply sign up, and create a Google plus business profile page, and you’re good to go.

In your AdWords account, you can craft different ads in various formats, depending on your business goals.

• Text Ads
• Video Ads
• Image Ads
• Product Shopping Ads
• Call-only Ads
• Responsive Ads
• App Promotion Ads

Showcase Shopping Ads

With text ads, you can add relevant and exciting extensions that will tell your potential customer more about your business, like your location or customer review ratings. For even greater conversions and brand awareness, creating a video will engage your viewers and can be shown on Youtube, which is home to over 1 billion unique, active monthly users.

Your Google AdWords ads are compiled with a unique quality score, which is based on a scale of 1 – 10. The quality score is assigned based on how relevant your keywords and landing page are that your ad links to. The better the quality score, the lower your click-through-rate (CPC).

To maintain a low CTR on a given ad, you need to make sure your viewers are highly targeted, qualified leads. If they aren’t, the ad won’t convert, meaning you aren’t going to be getting any revenue and your ROI will be low. Your keywords and phrases are the quintessential elements in getting your ads in front of the right viewers.

There are several types of keywords and phrases you can choose from when crafting your ad.

Broad Match

Phrase Match

Exact Match

Negative Keywords

How can I make sure my keywords are optimised for a better quality score?

Be Specific

The more specific your keywords and phrases, the better. For example, let’s say you own and operate an online, ‘green’ business that sells shopping totes. When you configure your keywords, you want to make sure that they aren’t too broad.

A tote could be a bag or a storage container. Be sure that your keywords are specified for your particular product or service, so the ad doesn’t show to the wrong viewers.

Totes bags for shopping

Environmentally friendly shopping tote bags

Canvas bags for groceries

In this case, you want to make sure your ads aren’t showing up for people who are looking for storage containers.

Use Technology

There are numerous, free software programs that are specifically designed to find and plan keywords and phrases you can use. Also, you can take advantage of ‘spying’ programs that will tell you what your competitors are using

Track Conversions

As always, track your conversions. If you don’t know how your ads are doing, you can’t tweak and modify them, or learn which ones are performing the best so you can invest accordingly. In your AdWords account, Google gives you highly sophisticated tracking software that will provide insight into your online and offline conversions.

The extent to which you can create and modify ads, plan and discover keywords, and grow your business using AdWords is enormous. It takes a lot of planning and studying to get the formula right so you can increase your profits. Without time and attention to detail, AdWords can be a money pit. But, a qualified expert will know what keywords to use to get you the highest quality score, so your investment in your business can grow.

If you want to get the best deal for your advertising budget, give us a call at Australian Internet Advertising. Our experts know how to craft and execute a stellar Google AdWords campaign while protecting and growing your bottom line. See what we can do for your business today.