| Google Adwords: Common Mistakes |
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| Written by Staff Writer | |||
| Thursday, 21 January 2010 17:40 | |||
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Google Adwords have been around for several years now, and by now most business owners have at least heard of Adwords, if not tried it themselves. In a nutshell, Google Adwords are paid advertisements for search results. In other words, when given a certain keyword search, the advertisement will populate on the Google results page. The ads are easily differentiated from organic search results, by highlighting, bold text and placement. Ads are placed at the top and to the right of the organic results field. First, it's important to understand that organic results are far superior in return. They cost the website owner nothing, and hold higher relevance and credibility. However, achieving great position in organic results takes time, energy, money, and some technical "know-how" of the Google algorithm. Google Ads on the other hand charge the website owner on a per click basis. One can choose the maximum amount they'd like to pay for each click, along with demographics they'd like to reach, like geographic area. Leads through Adwords are measured by CPC, or cost-per-click. For example, an ad with a $1 cost-per-click, obviously charges $1 for each time it is clicked by a consumer. Sounds simple, right? Just place an ad and wait for results! The truth is, plenty of business owners have lost money on Google Adwords with this mentality. Adword placement has to be HEAVILY monitored using programs that measure click-thru's and through a "trial and error" of different keywords. Let's say that ABC Company places a Google Adword for "Doggie Bags: $1.99". A restaurant owner is looking for new take-out bags and Googles the term "Doggie Bags". They click ABC Company's ad (which costs the company $1), only to find out that the company sells bags to hold small dogs in. 10,000 companies repeat the same problem. ABC views their analytics to find that their click-thru ratio is outstanding - they can't understand why they've spent $10,000 and generated no new sales. Of course this is an extreme scenario, but the principle of the problem occurs very often. Another common mistake is assuming that a company must be in the #1 position. This often costs much more per click (it adds up!) for the same results as an ad at the bottom of the first page. Simple rule of thumb - stay on the first page. Although the difference in activity between the top and bottom of the first page is minimal, the difference from the first page to the second is dramatic. Doing your homework and putting the time and effort into an Adwords campaign can drastically improve your company's success rate. Don't have the time or technical knowledge? Hiring a marketing firm to manage your Adwords campaign is another great way to ensure your results are monitored and implemented as effectively as possible.
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