How does Adwords work?
I want to advertise my business through Adwords and use it to attract business to my website, in order to generate leads through the Adwords campaign. Does anyone have advice on how to get started?
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Jan 25, 2015
Daniyal, a good start is to set up a MCC account with Google. This will give you links to the Google Certification portal where you can take various Google Exams including Google Adwords Fundamentals and Various Advanced options. This will also give you access to loads of free training material which I suggest you work through in a timely manner while testing on a demo Adwords account before attempting the exams.
Alternately make use of a professional even though a insight to what they are dealing with would help you understand the nature of digital advertising.
Jan 24, 2015
Go straight to the source my friend! https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6069823?hl=en
Jan 23, 2015
Some Adwords partners are offering match funding of 150 pounds and free training, so it might be worth asking, I don't know where you are based but if its the north west Contrado Digital www.contradodigital.com are are delivery partner and offering the support.
Jan 22, 2015
Adwords can get very expensive very quickly if you don't know what you're doing. Research it extensively first or hire an expert who will help educate you throughout the process until you feel more comfortable. Or as others have said, leave it to the experts while you focus on running your business, which is hopefully a more valuable use of your time.
Jan 22, 2015
Hi Daniyal,
To get the most out of Adwords (PPC) campaign, you should also be doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If you have a website which is already search engine optimized for your targeted keywords, the chances of your Ads getting posted on the top of the first page is high.
So, the strategy should be SEO+Adwords(PPC) and not Adwords alone. Google gives quality scores for each link based on various factors and more often the links get clicked, better the chances of showing yourself on the top with highest quality scores. Quality scores are decided based on your ad spend budget, but Google also counts on the better links which have got more hits. I've seen some ads with lesser budgets going to the top for this reason.
And if you're just starting out with Adwords you have to be ready to spend few bucks just to try and test. Once you get an idea, you can slightly chance based on the results for better conversion. Please keep your initial budgets as low as possible. Keep in mind that just the random clicks on your ads isn't your end goal, but you will need conversions. So use those keywords which can get bit lesser clicks, but highest conversions. It is wise to hire a Adwords professional or agency if you can afford rather than doing it yourself because you would require to monitor the performance regularly and spend smartly to find success with it.
All the best!
Jan 22, 2015
I agree that SEO & Adwords go together, and each helps the other. SEO helps the ads have a better quality score, and Adwords campaigns help you get direct data for which keywords are most profitable to focus your SEO on (which Google is increasingly only giving data to paid adwords users).
Jan 22, 2015
HI Daniyal,
I recently tried to use adwords for the first time a few months back and had the same questions as you. I initially tried to speak to google directly to ask abut paying for them to get me started but the agent I spoke to was shocking. I only had a small budget to begin with and I ended up just testing it out myself.
To get yourself started I suggest the following
-You need to have your website(s) connected to google analytics so that you can measure your campaign more effectively.
-Find out what your SEO keywords are (if you have any). If you don't then you can always use google analytics (in the reporting tab under acquisition) to find out what terms people are searching when they visit your website through google. You can then use that to decide what keywords to use for Adwords.
-You will need to bid for how much you willing to pay each time someone clicks and then you set a daily spend budget and an end date for your campaign to be able to stick to your budget. You can bid separately for each keyword (i.e. £2 for one and £3.50 for another) and you only pay for clicks.
-If you connect your adwords to your analytics you can then see how many people that clicked on your ad went through to your website.
-login regularly to see what is working and adapt your bids to the changes.
It was trial and error for me but that helped me to really understand how adwords work and what keywords work well for us. I will now be paying a google partner approved internet marketing agency to market to manage my adwords account as they specialize in it.
I would suggest using an agency as they are experts but if you just want to test the waters first then go ahead but start with a small budget as you want to maximise your returns and not waste money.
Jan 22, 2015
Agree with most of above, but it's recommended by some experts to start with a LARGER budget first, then shrink the budget as you learn from the stats. If you start too small, several disadvantages occur: 1) you have little data to work with to know what will work - get LOTS of data at the beginning, so you know what to focus on with most ROI. 2) You get no opportunity to improve your CTR (click-thru-rate), which is what helps determine your quality score, and thus the rate Google charges you. A good CTR & quality score will make your cost-per-click lower. A smaller budget will give you little chance to establish these, so your CPC will stay high since you'd be getting so few clicks. 3) Low budget = $spent with little return, giving you little to work with to spend MORE on ads. But 1&2 are the main advantages.
Jan 21, 2015
Adwords is always a great place to start on google. However, a few things you should know:
1) Adwords can be more expensive than other advertising options
2) If you're doing Adwords you may also want to look into SEO work.
Now if you want a serious campaign on Adwords go through the keyword list and check the traffic sources. It also helps to put a few long keyword ads on there too. IE:
Keyword - Cupcake
Keywords - Chocolate chip cupcake London.
This should help round out your adwords campaigns. Also with adwords you have access to youtube pre-rolls which I think are more effective than your average search engine advertising.
In the end it comes down to your budget and how you want to move forward with it.
Jan 21, 2015
Throwing in my two cents here. Everyone else has given you solid answers that I also agree with. I would want to stress to you to make sure you have Google analytics setup on your website from day one, to really gain more insight into your Adwords campaigns. Google Partners have certain standards they have to regularly meet in order to have that status, so finding an agency with that accreditation is a big point too.
Going off of what Daniel said - HubSpot is a great marketing tool for inbound marketing (as opposed to paid advertising). They do charge to use their tools, but offer training and support throughout the process. The agency I work for has both the Google Partner status and HubSpot Partner status and we use both fronts to assist our clients with growing to their potential. HubSpot can be a DIY system, but the partner directory can connect you with trained and certified professionals on the system, to do the heavy lifting for you/with you. Again, HubSpot holds this status to a high standard, with regular re-certifications and practicums that certification holders must pass.
Jan 21, 2015
Hi Daniyal - I strongly agree with Josh in that a productive and successful Adwords campaign can be complex and if you are not an expert, it is advisable to partner or hire an expert. You will spend more time and money than you might realize. I am certified in digital marketing and new media and I speak with clients every day. The primary topic of these conversations is understanding that inbound marketing requires a high level of skill sets. You are an expert in whatever it is your business does. Do you really want to put that aside and try to become a marketing expert yourself? The smart answer is no. You wouldn't remove your own appendix, you would find and trust an expert. The same applies for Adwords, SEO, Blogging, Social media promotion, lead generation, lead nurturing, analytics and evaluating all of these inbound marketing components to apply modifications.
If you have zero budget and are forced to try this on your own, I recommend you read "Advanced Web Metrics With Google Analytics" by Brian Clifton. There are chapters that can help you get started. That said, I recommend you speak with a certified consultant to determine if Adwords is even the best form of inbound marketing to start with. Maybe organic optimization would be more productive. My point is to look at the big picture and have a professional help you develop a marketing plan, strategy and then a blueprint for action. I also suggest you spend a little time reviewing www.HubSpot.com. This is a software application and inbound marketing methodology that covers all important considerations when thrying to develop a marketing plan. I hope this helps!!!
Jan 21, 2015
You should think on how people will google you. Depending on your business, there's key words that could help you be found easily.
How do you setup a MCC account with Google?