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.
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