Competing online for new customers is a tricky prospect. There are a lot of clever marketers out there who know all the ins and outs of online marketing, making it a lot easier for them to gain that market share you have been struggling to capture.
You can get in on the action if you learn to use the same tricks as the professional do. One of these tricks is learning how to use Google Ads to engage customers effectively and get them to think about your company.
Here are some tips on how you can take advantage of Google AdWords and get it to work for you.
Google Paid Ad Campaigns
The world of the PPC is very confusing and highly competitive. It’s like eBay on steroids, with everybody doing the same thing; a market share. Your Google Ad Campaigns will allow you to zero-in to your ideal customers combining geo-targeting, keywords, basic demographics, and audience behaviour to sell your brand, services, and products.
The beauty of the whole idea is that you only pay for the PPC model when you get the result you want, which is a click on your ad. Google Ads let you “cheat” your way to search rankings without being unethical.
The only difference between your ranking and those just below you is that your ranking is not “organic.”
Difference Between Paid Traffic & Organic Traffic
This brings us to a critical lesson in the ranking, which is the difference between an organic ranking and a paid ranking. To reach the top of the organic ranking, you need to be diligent in building up your content.
It’s a lot of work and it takes a lot of time to invest in coming up with ideas for blogs and fresh content.
Organic growth is also highly competitive and has a lot of knowledge about how Google search engines work in combination with the dreaded challenges of SEO ( search engine optimization). On the other hand, there’s a much easier approach to paying for Google ads.
This allows you to appear just above the highest organic ranking. However, you are still going to have to gain some knowledge of the best strategy to become an effective bidder, so you can take full advantage of your marketing dollars and reach out to large audience.
The AdWords Auction
Just as the title implies, Google AdWords is set up like a negotiating site that forces advertisers to bid for the position and audience they want to reach. You can set the amount of dollars you are willing to pay for your bids and the price for each click you receive.
If you turn out to be the highest bidder for that target and position, your ad will be shown when someone searches with your keywords. Google is always going to be the top bidder, and if your budget isn’t so hot, it can prove challenging to get ranked.
However, there’s another factor that gives you the exact same thing: Google is all about quality even when it comes to paying for rankings. Also, if you are the highest bidder, but the next highest bidder is lower than your maximum PPC, you will only be charged the price that the second highest bidder was willing to pay.
It sounds confusing, and, frankly, it may be, but it works for you when this happens. A lot can happen in the bidding process, but, to put it plainly, you need the highest bid and the best quality ad to get to the position you want.
The Quality Metrics
Since Google is not only interested in finding the highest bidder, you also need to consider the quality of the information that you will provide to the consumer when they choose to click on your ad/link. That means the thought has to be put on your landing page.
Google wants to see information relevant to your keywords because it keeps customers happy. You will also see more conversions if you send your clicks to a page that will make customer’s visit worth a while.
You can make the most of every click by offering a special offer, free registration for a newsletter, or a specially coded offer that you can use. A conversion doesn’t have to be a sale; it just has to get them to follow your call to action and do what you want them to do.
Best Return On Investment
Your Google Ads Strategy should have some form of payback, or your investment might not be worth it. Keep in mind that the ads will start to cost you, and the more successful your ad, the more it will cost you.
It makes good sense, therefore, to have some form of offer that will be an incentive for people to make a purchase. That way, you will see the best possible return on investment ( ROI) for your ad dollars.
The good thing about this that you can also set a daily budget that allows you to control your spending.
To create Google Ads and get the best ROI, you will need to plan the following:
- Budget
- Keywords
- Research on your competitors
- An effective landing page
- Your campaign
- Your ad
Planning For Your Budget
This allowance is not very different from any other budget. You can determine how much you are willing to bid for each click as well as how much you are willing to spend each day. This helps you control your budget and avoid over-expenditure.
If you find that you don’t get the results you want, you can rethink your top bid, or you can revisit your keywords and look for options that are less competitive.
Keywords
One of the best features of Google Adwords is their free Google keyword planner. It’s an easy tool to use, especially if you have your Buyer Persona well developed. Start by using the products and services you offer and fine-tuning to the product categories if it works for your business.
As your results come in, you can look for ways to reduce competition while keeping an eye on how often those keywords are searched on a monthly basis. The trick is to find the lowest average bid, with the highest monthly searches possible.
Competition
It’s only logical to be curious about what keywords your competitor is using to get to the top of the rankings. You can use websites such as SEMrush and Spyfu. They will provide you with information about the keywords you want to use and how many other companies use them. You will be able to find the following on Spyfu:
- How many Adwords clients use these keywords.
- Other keyword ideas that work well in your niche.
- History of advertisers and samples of their advertisements.
- You can explore how SERPS people use SEMrush as well.
Landing Page
You don’t want to disappoint when you get people to click. That’s why your landing page should be worth visiting . There are two reasons why you want to attract audiences to your landing page. The first is obvious, as it helps to increase sales.
The second is not as obvious, and that’s because Google also likes conversions. So, if you are converting a lot of people who click on your ads, Google will remember that. It can help to increase your ranking position, in turn.
You can use these tips to improve your landing page:
- Simple designs are the best. They are easier to read, and they load faster.
- Create a compelling headline that’s going to get a reaction.
- State the facts, and make them as transparent as possible.
- Use bullet points for easier reading.
- Choose an image that’s eye-catching and adds to your message.
Here are two link examples of landing page done right:
Your Campaign (AdWords)
AdWords is operates by setting up campaigns. Each campaign allows you to target your chosen keywords, products, and targets based on location. You should use the following features to boost your PPC campaign:
Demographic targeting: The finer your target, the better your chances of conversion. Adwords allows you to focus on income, parental status, gender and age.
Click-to-call: Click-to-call takes some time to set up, but it allows you to add call extensions so that people can get in touch with the sales team in your company right away.
Optimized ad rotation: Ad rotation allows you to test different ads to find the best one for your audience and KPIs. Google will do this for you automatically, which will help you create a range of ads. You can look back and see which ones work best and improve your future performance.
Your Ad
Creating an ad uses the same premise as your landing pages. Simple is the best thing. They are even shorter and sweeter, because there’s less space to communicate your message.
Things to focus on would include your unique value proposition (UVP) so that customers can get your benefits at a quick dose. In other words, what are you doing better than your competition? The use of keywords in your ad works as well.
That’s what got people here in the first place, after all. You are not trying to win creative awards. All you want is conversions. A simple call to “click here” action is the final step to get them to your landing page.
With PPC models taking over the online marketing game, this guide will help you get tech-savvy fast.