Adwords Blog

 

Insight Into Adwords

On the 9th December 2014 we talked to Marketing Managers about targeting ads to specific audiences and locations using Google Adwords. Here’s an insight into how Adwords works and our slides can be found on SlideShare.

Google search results pages are increasingly dominated by ads.  The top 3 listings and the column down the right hand side of the screen are all paid advertising.  So for any search result, around 8 prime listings will be ads.  A sure fire way to increase traffic to your site therefore is to set up a successful paid advertising campaign.

Any Adwords campaign relies on Keywords – words and phrases that can trigger your ad to show on results pages.  Critical for success therefore is to identify the most specific keywords which will identify only the search results most relevant to your target audience, too broad a keyword will dilute the effectiveness of the campaign.  For maximum return on investment it is crucial to continually refine your campaigns in search of the most cost effective route to your target audience.  Using location filters for example you can target specific products or services to exact locations.

Keywords can trigger ads to appear around Google’s Display Network too.  These are related sites, mobile apps and video content across the internet, Google call these ads Placements.

Quick Guide To Key Terms In Adwords:

  • CPC – Cost per click
  • CTR – Click Through Rate – how many click through to your landing page from your ad.
  • Your Bid – how much you are willing to spend on each click of your ad – your maximum CPC
  • Ad Position – the order in which your ad shows on a page i.e. position 1 is the first ad at the top of the page (the ultimate goal)
  • Ad Extensions – a feature which shows extra business info with your ad such as address/phone number/web links
  • Quality Score – the 1-10 quality score which is given to each keyword in your account – an estimate of the quality of your ads and landing pages triggered by that keyword.  High Score = Google deems the ad relevant and useful = improved AdRank
  • AdRank – Google uses this to determine who’s ad will appear and in what order Ad Rank is made up of your bid amount, the quality of your ad/website and the expected impact from your ad extensions/other ad formats.  In short: £Bid + Relevance = AdRank
  • Quality Score – expected CTR, ad relevance and landing page experience
  • Impressions – how many times your ad has been shown

Each time an ad is eligible to appear for a search, it is up against often strong competition so it goes to an Ad Auction to be compared.  What you are charged (your actual CPC) is often lower than your maximum because with the Adwords Auction you will only be charged what’s minimally required to hold your ad position.

In a nutshell, high quality ads typically lead to lower costs and better ad position, relevant and closely matched to what searchers are looking for.  Fine tuning your Adwords campaign is time consuming but key to achieving maximum ROI.

As certified professionals in Google Adwords we specialise in finding relevant keywords, crafting effective ad copy optimising landing pages for conversion, tailoring and measuring Adwords success.