Creative Digital

Ads are Google’s main source of revenue. In 2012, Google ad revenues totaled $43.7 billion. These are huge numbers and are a testament to the impact ads have on the world wide web.

Google AdWords helps companies and businesses market and advertise their products on the Google ad network. These ads contain copy and specific keywords which are relevant to a company’s product and are placed on search engine results pages (SERPs) and affiliate Google sites. Essentially, Google AdWords is an advertising service owned by Google which gives advertisers the opportunity to place their product, website or service on SERPs for a cost.

Google places ads on SERPs using keywords users input when searching for specific products or services. These ads appear on results pages at the top or sides of SERPs as ads or sponsored links.

How Does Google AdWords Work?

Google AdWords offers pay-per-click (PPC) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) advertising. In PPC advertising, advertisers bid on phrases (keywords) which web users search for in Google searches. An advertiser pays for each click on the ad resulting from the web search. The price an advertiser is willing to pay Google each time a user clicks their ad is called cost-per-click (CPC).

Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) advertising is a pricing model where an advertiser pays for each action performed by a user — whether it be a purchase, subscription, or download resulting from clicking on an ad. This metric measures an advertiser’s conversion cost per use from the ad’s entry point on the search engine to the final action a user has made on a website (purchasing a product, signing up, etc.).

Another option in Google AdWords is cost per thousand impressions (CPM). This option allows advertisers and marketers to pay Google for every 1,000 times the ad appears in search results. It does not require any actual click-throughs.

The Importance of Keyword Analysis

Keyword analysis is the foundation of a good AdWords strategy. For a Google AdWords campaign to achieve success, an advertiser must do thorough keyword research to understand what keywords are more likely to convert users into paying customers. Using the right keywords is crucial in creating searchable ads and landing pages. This is why it is extremely important to do keyword research and optimize the copy in ads to maximize results and result in more clicks.

Keyword research allows marketers to understand what users are typing in search engines when searching for specific products and services. This is why advertisers should use keywords that will help their ad appear in SERPs and are also relevant to users and what they are searching for.

It is important for advertisers to use both long-tail and short-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords generally yield better results as these keywords are less likely to be used by competitors. They also produce more specific results. This means that ads with long-tail keywords are more likely to appear in search engine results when users search for specific phrases.

Advertisers bid against competitors on search terms. This means that the more an advertiser pays for a click, the more likely it is that the ad will appear in search results. This isn’t the only thing that Google takes into consideration when placing ads, though.

Google also takes into account the quality of an ad by determining how useful and relevant it is to the terms users are searching. This is called a Quality Score. Google also takes into consideration past click-through-rates on the same ad as well as the relevance of an ad’s landing page.

Use Google AdWords the Right Way

The right AdWords strategy is one which uses the right keywords and understands its audience. In addition to this, a great AdWords campaign is one that involves competitive research. This research should include an analysis of the keywords competitors are bidding on.

By analyzing the keywords, copy, and tactics of competitors who are consistently ranked at the top of SERPs, advertisers can optimize their own ads and strategies to yield the best results. The final and most important part of a good AdWords strategy is the landing page. A good landing page should offer something that is unique. It should be different from what other competitors are offering and compel users to take some form of action.

With a well-researched and thorough Google AdWords campaign, it’s not difficult to achieve click-throughs and acquisitions from consumers. Use the right tools and strategies today to maximize your growth and achieve a higher ROI with Google AdWords.