BUS 572 Session 3: Keyword Planner Tool and Keyword Research Tools

As we move through BUS 572 and get closer to the beginning of the Google Online Marketing Campaign (GOMC), I find myself becoming more comfortable with using the AdWords software.  With this base level knowledge, I have been able to now turn my focus towards using features and concepts that give my team a better chance for a successful campaign.  Two of those tools are the Keyword Planner Tool on Google Ad Words, and Keyword Research Tools mentioned in Chapter 6 of our text book.

Google AdWords logo Source: Google Search

The Keyword Planner Tool in Google Ad Words is a complex but very worthwhile tool to become familiar with.  It has the capabilities of providing information that will help you choose the proper keywords, even before your campaign begins.  Information provided by this tool includes: keyword ideas based on at least one keyword of your own, CPC to reach the front page, how competitive the keyword is, and the search volume of the keyword.  All of this information is presented in an easy to understand format that gives you an opportunity to select the right keywords for your campaign. 
As I am developing keywords and ads for my teams campaign, I am also keeping in mind to optimize the content of the ads so that they perform well with the keywords.  I learned information on how to do this in Chapter 6.4 of the textbook.  This part of the chapter discusses 3 roles content can play:

1. It provides information.
2. It must engage them.
3. It must convince them to do what you want.

Although in the chapter, this information is actually referring to optimizing content on a website, I believe the information will help me develop ads that are successful.

Some questions I have moving forward would be related to my ads being displayed.  I have experimented with the Ad Diagnoses Tool on Adwords but have, thus-far, been unable to have my ad be displayed.  I was wondering if this is because I do not have an "active" account with billing information? or if I had more to do with my keywords to ad interaction?

Again, moving forward with BUS 572, I feel as though my eyes have been opened to a whole new world of marketing.  It seems that this class gives a "behind the scenes" look at how search adverting works, while also providing the opportunity for hands on experience.  I feel as though I am learning valuable information and look forward to apply it with my team as we begin to optimize our campaign.

Stokes, R. (2011). emarketing: The essential guide to digital marketing. (V 1.0 ed.). Quirk Education. Retrieved from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/19

BUS 572 Session 2: Google Ad Words

This past class session a very knowledgeable guest speaker came and discussed how to set up and optimize Google Ad Words campaigns.   From this lecture, in conjunction with material provided on the course website, many key concepts were introduced.  Two concepts  I would like to talk more in depth about are keyword research and creating text ads.  

Adequate keyword research is crucial to any Ad Words campaign.  Without proper user of keywords, the ads you create will get too little or irrelevant views.  In other words, the target customer will not be reached.  It is also important to realize that keyword research does not simply involve brainstorming a list of words customers might use to find your product or service, but that there are different types of keywords that came make the same word perform in different ways.  The 5 types of keywords settings in Google Ad Words are: broad, modified broad, phrase, exact, and negative.

Source: digital4startups.com http://digital4startups.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Google-Match-Types-Example.png

As you can see, moving from broad to exact the results become fewer but more specific.  Negative keyword types are not included in the picture above but are used when you want to exclude keywords.

Each keyword type has certain symbols you can use to define it:

Broad Match

+Modified Broad Match

“Phrase Match”

[Exact Match]

-Negative Match

Using all of these tools properly will go a long way towards a successful Ad Words campaign.

After initial keyword research has been completed the next step in the process is to create a text ad that will attract clicks from customers searching those specific keywords.  During the last class session we learned the basic structure and how to use it to our advantage.  Starting with the basic structure, each ad has 4 lines of text.  The top line the being the title, 2 lines of description and 1 line for a hyperlink.  Each line of text has a limited number of characters and rules dictate how ads may look. (E.g. Refraining from excessive capitalization, and only one exclamation point per ad).  Best practices include ads that are concise, interesting, and have a landing page relevant to the ad being displayed.  The image below is simply a screenshot capture ads displayed after of a Google search I conducted of “shoes”.  

Google Search for "shoes"

A skill I have begun to develop after Session 2 of BUS572 is simply becoming more adept at using the Google Ad Words software.  This technology is used worldwide by advertisers and holds amazing potential for any business.  As we learned from our guest speaker, Google Ad Words is so in depth an entire business can be built around helping clients best utilize the software.  I look forward to working with my team in formulating a successful ad campaign.  It seems that in order the best use this software it will take a lot of trial and error.  

Some outstanding questions I have moving forward are: What kind of impact can Google Ad Words campaigns have on local businesses? and Is it more cost effective than conventional advertisement methods?  It seems as though time will tell.

On my last post, I made the comment that I look forward to a better understanding of Google Ad Words, and while certainly I know more now that I did two weeks ago, it seems as this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Google Ad Words is an intricate and complex technology that I look forwarded to broadening my understanding of as the class moves on.

Google Partners. (2013). Gomc digital marketing course: Search 201 [Web]. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/partners/