Effective Advertising through Google AdWords

Placing an ad on the Internet is quite different from its paper version and, if you are new to the fascinating world of e-commerce, you may need some timely advice. When doing business via the Web you will have to re-adjust your way of thinking, especially if you already have an existing, real-life enterprise on the go. In the virtual world everything is different, because you are not just dealing with your local neighborhood customers, but with search engines as well as consumers living all over the world.

One of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to advertise online is to sign up with Google’s AdWords, an advertising program able to distribute advertisements on a local, national and international level. This amount of visibility means that you will be able to target prospects on a much larger scale, and, as a result, increase your business profits.

If you wonder how AdWords works, you may be surprised to find out that, in all probability, you may already be familiar with the advertising strategies behind the program. Picture the last search query you did through Google and recall the screen structure that popped up showing you the search outcome. Do you recall sponsored links just above your results, as well as in the right side of your browser window? Those sponsored links are actually paid advertisements.

If you sign up with AdWords you will be participating in automated auctions. This means that you will be bidding on keywords. In other words, for each keyword associated with an ad, you would choose how much you are willing to pay for each click-thru resulting from the displayed advertisement. The higher you bid, the sooner your promotion will show up during search inquiries on Google. You can bid on one keyword, or multiple ones. Some big corporations will bid on thousands of keywords at a time.

To maximize your return on your investment, you should find keywords that will get the lowest Cost-Per-Click (CPC), but still generate high quality clicks. High quality clicks generate leads and sales. Of course, that is all easier said than done, especially if you only started your business a couple of weeks ago and your website is still being designed. In that case, start your research, so by the time your site will be launched you will know your target audience, how to sign up for AdWords, and what keywords to bid on. PPC works well
Here are a few things to remember when signing up for Google AdWords:

• Set your daily budget – Start low – maybe $ 10 - $ 15 per day - and work your way up as your business grows and you can afford to spend more on advertising.

• Know your maximum bid - In addition to your daily budget, set limits to the maximum bid that you are willing to pay for a Cost Per Click.
• Choose perfect keywords - Both general keywords and narrowly targeted keywords can generate results. In the keyword space provided during the initial setup, list the keywords or keyword phrases you intend to use. Try to incorporate common miss-spellings of your keywords, because fast or inexperienced users may type in mistakes. If they do, your site would still make the top search engine ranking
• Set up an AdWords campaign – Once you are familiar with the AdWords initiative, decide on which product or service you want to promote and research associated and alternative keywords.
• Set up 1 or more ad groups – an ad group contains one or more ads. They target a set of keywords, Google placements, or both. You can set up several ad groups to try different approaches and compare efficiency results.
• Locate your target area – Decide on the language you want to use in your ad and which counties and territories you want to target.
• • Write your advertisement – Because you do not get many characters to play with, compose headlines that include keywords and text that is to the point.
• Take advantage of Google Analytics – This program shows you how visitors found you and where they went on your site. It will also demonstrate how you can enhance your visitor’s experiences. This vital information can help you improve your website and increase conversions.
• Know the difference between Google Search and Google Content Network - Google search provides results from inquiries run directly on www.google.com. The content network on the other hand, consists of Google partner sites and those sites that run advertisements through Google's AdSense program.
• Follow up on leads and sales – when analysis reveals that your landing page, or other website components are not generating enough leads or sales, you may have to make some website changes (richer text, better product descriptions, easier order forms, etc.) Keep track of these modifications to see if they are actually working.
• Check your analysis results frequently – Even if your advertising is working effectively keep track of your scores. Competition is fierce and new advertising strategies can be lurking just around the corner. Before you know it, you may have lost your favored spot in the rankings.

Like with all advertising campaigns, promoting your business online will require consideration, know-how and persistence. Once that is all in place you will be able to harvest the fruits of your work and see your venture climb those steep search engine ladders.