Google AdWords - As Quick and Easy to Set Up as They Claim?
by Sali Earls
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Google is the world’s number one search engine searching over 8 billion websites to fulfil users search requirements.
With more and more competition to be highly listed in search engines, and expensive sign up programmes available, Google have introduced AdWords, a flexible, cost effective and simple to use advertising programme that you can set up yourself with minimal IT skills.
When you type a search term into Google and hit return, you see "Sponsored Links" on the right hand side of the page - these are adverts places via the AdWords programme, and are only paid for by the advertiser when a user clicks on the advert and goes through to the advertisers website.
The programme has been available for some time, and the advertising tells me that I can "start gaining new customers in less than 15 minutes". So, I have decided to put that to the test. With stopwatch running, I’m going to set up an AdWords advertising programme to see how just how quick and easy it is.
The time is 3.00pm...
Getting to the AdWords site is simple - just follow the link to "Advertising Programmes". Once you’re into AdWords itself, you can access more information about the programme before taking the plunge, including a sign up demo to talk you through the process step by step, and lots of facts and figures about the service.
But time is moving on and I need to sort out my advert.
The first step is to choose the language and geographical reach of the advert. I’ve selected "English" language and "Global or nationwide" location. It’s worth pointing out that although you are setting these at this stage, you can edit these options as your needs change in the future.
The next page asks you to specify the countries you want the ad to appear in. Again this is something that can be edited once the advert is up and running. Also, the greater the geographical coverage, the more chance of your chosen keywords being selected, and therefore the higher the overall price of the campaign. With that in mind, I’m selecting "United Kingdom" only at this stage.
Now it comes to deciding on the advertising copy you’d like to use, and the character limits for each line force you to choose your words very carefully. As you enter your text your advert creates itself so you can see how it looks before you proceed. You need to ensure that you work within Google’s editorial guidelines, as it is possible that your advert will be checked by a human reader at Google and disabled - for example you cannot make claims such as "Our company is the cheapest and best in the world". My advert for Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory is almost ready to go.
The difficult part comes next. You have to create a keyword list containing search terms that prospective customers may use, and which is used to pull up your advert. Google have offered a link to a site that suggests additional keywords depending on your list, and this can be very helpful in developing your list further.
With the list in place, the next task is to set the maximum cost-per-click; that is the most you are willing to pay for prospects clicking on your advert. I’ve selected 20 pence, and the site shows me how many times each day the words I’ve chosen are searched for, and the likely ranking of my advert. Some of the words chosen are not common search terms, so this would also be an opportunity to adapt these accordingly. This page also shows me, at the bottom of the table, how much this campaign would cost me everyday if the number of searches and clicks happen as Google predict.
The next page recommends a daily budget - it has suggested 40.00 to me, but I’m going to set it at 5.00. In practice this means that once your daily budget has been reached with prospective customers clicking on your link, the advert will not be listed again that day. This way Google ensure that you do not spend any more than you want on running your campaign.
Having set the budget, you complete the process by signing up, entering email address and password. Before continuing, Google send a verification email to that address, and as is standard with many sign up processes, you simply follow the link in the email to continue.
Once back into the programme, it tells me that my campaign is not active as I haven’t set up my billing information. While the content of your campaign can be constantly changed and honed, the country or region for billing information cannot - once it’s set to your email address that is it.
After selecting country, and agreeing the terms and conditions, billing can be set up by credit card or bank transfer. On setting up, you are billed a 5.00 activation fee, and the campaign is live.
The Campaign Management tab allows you to track clicks and optimise the keywords used in the ad; the Reports tab provides a range of reports that can be run to show campaign effectiveness; and the My Account tab shows how much your campaign is costing.
At any time during the lifespan of the campaign, the advert can be adapted, paused or deleted.
So, I’ve completed my advert and the time is... 3.13pm. It seems as though Google were right. But will it appear?
Five minutes after completing my advert, I visit Google and search for "chocolate factory"...
There is no denying that Google AdWords is very easy to set up, and I know from prior experience that it is straightforward to maintain and administer. The point of running a campaign like this is to draw potential customers to your website, and the ongoing use of AdWords to monitor and tailor campaigns is a process that can run for weeks and months, adjusting it according to you particular needs.
Fast Facts: The Benefits of Google AdWords
- Signing up takes less than 15 minutes, and your advert will go live immediately
- No minimum monthly spend, and no fees beyond the initial 5.00 set up
- Daily budgets are set for campaigns, so you always know how much you are spending
- It automatically reduces the cost of your advert to the lowest price needed to maintain your position, and never goes above your maximum set cost-per-click
- Adverts are ranked to appear on the page based on a formula of cost-per-click multiplied by click-through-rate enabling your advert ranking to improve without costing any more
- Adverts can be targeted to over 225 countries should you require international coverage
- Multiple adverts can be set up to enable marketers to test the effectiveness of different keywords and creatives
- Keyword suggestion tool available to help you get the most out of your keyword selection
Google AdWords does give users the flexibility to run a multi-faceted campaign that is cost effective and straightforward to use. A main advert can run constantly to promote your business, with sub adverts drawing attention to particular elements of your products, or perhaps an event programme that you are running. In my opinion, the particular benefits are that advertisers know how much they will be spending, and new ads can be prepared, perhaps in response to news items, and be live in a matter of minutes.
I think that Google AdWords is the best online marketing tool currently available, and I hope I have demonstrated the ease of setup. However, as with any marketing campaign, it is only as good as the preparation. Setting effective budgets, researching appropriate keywords, and writing great copy are vital to the success of a campaign.
Useful links:
Google AdWordsA link directly to the AdWords section
https://adwords.google.co.uk
Word Tracker
A useful alternative to the Google keyword tool
www.wordtracker.com
Overture
An alternative to Google AdWords, providing sponsored links on Yahoo and MSN amongst others
www.overture.com
ESpotting
Another pay-per-click advertising tool, based in the UK
www.espotting.com
