Google AdWords is a fast and effective tool for reaching out to new customers. Basic account set up takes next to no time at all and many users start seeing a positive ROI almost immediately. Google AdWords is an intimidating prospect for some businesses, especially if they are new to the platform. However, while long-term management of a campaign does require time investment and careful planning, the platform itself is actually very straightforward to use. In this article we explain how you can set up a simple and effective text ad, using the Google AdWords Search Network, in only 10 minutes:
Get your stopwatches ready…
The Basics
Login to your Google AdWords account and go to the campaigns tab. Choose Search Network only. This is the most straightforward way of setting up a Google AdWords campaign. Give your campaign a relevant name – this can be something simple such as TEST#1, or SEO for now – then select all features from the campaign -type menu. This will give you full access to Google AdWords’ scheduling and visibility controls.
Location & Scheduling
Choose the location where you want your advert to appear from the drop-down menu. Of the target and exclude options, you want to target people in my targeted location and exclude people in my excluded location. In the advanced settings tab you can also choose a start date for your campaign and the days and times you wish it to appear. This should be set up to coincide with the working hours of your target audience. We recommend you keep these scheduling windows as broad as possible to begin with and optimise them when the results start coming in.
Bid Strategy
Now move on to determine your bid strategy. We recommend choosing Manual CPC for your first few campaigns, as this gives you the most control over your cost per click. You can also set your default bid and your daily budget cap. Be conservative with this – you can always increase your budget when you review the data.
Delivery Options
So you can have your advert delivered to your target audience as quickly as possible, we recommend you choose Accelerated Delivery, rather than the Standard option. This will authorise Google to spend your budget as quickly as possible. Don’t be alarmed by this; choosing this option will give you the fastest possible access to AdWords data, allowing you to optimise your campaign and save costs on subsequent adverts. In the Ad Delivery menu, select optimise for clicks.
A Note On Ad Extensions
Ad extensions can be created at this point of the campaign. These play an important role in increasing your click through rate. However, don’t worry about them at this stage for your first basic text campaign.
Setting Up Your Ad Group & Keywords
Set up and name your Ad Group as the umbrella for your individual AdWords campaigns. An Ad Group has a broader focus than a specific campaign. For instance, you may have an Ad Group called ‘men’s clothes promotions’, while your individual keyword ads are called ‘cheap men’s t-shirts’, or ‘buy men’s fashion t-shirts’, ‘summer men’s t-shirt sale’ etc. You can run more than one ad group concurrently. Using the same example, you may wish to set up another one for ‘Women’s Clothes Promotions’, ‘Children’s Shoes’ etc. The focus of each ad group will determine the keywords you use for individual adverts.
Creating Your Advert
With the setup complete, it is now time to create your Text Ad!
Landing Page URL
Enter the final URL, which is the address of the landing page your advert will point to. Landing pages are topical all of their own. For now, it’s important you link to a landing page that is relevant to your ad and is optimised for conversions. You should ideally be aiming for a 40% plus conversion rate, depending on the type of product and the nature of your business. If you gain a high click through rate (CTR) from your ad but conversions fail to materialise, go back and take another look at your landing page.
You have the option of creating an additional URL path. This does not have to be the same as your final URL, but is a nominal web address you can enter to encourage viewers to click on your link. This URL is generated by Google and directs to your landing page.
Headlines
You have two headline fields for a text ad, each being up to 30 characters in length. This gives Google the flexibility to display your advert on different devices. You can see a preview to the right of your headline fields which shows how your advert will appear. This allows you to road test the advert on mobile and desktop screens in real-time. Try and use all the allotted characters and make sure each headline makes sense individually and when taken together.
Description
For your text advert you have only 80 characters to play with – less than a tweet – so make every word count. The advert should immediately grab the attention of viewers and leave no ambiguity as to what you’re advertising. Play to your strengths. Use all your allotted space and focus on your core USPs; what makes your business stand out from your competitors?
Keywords
Once your advert is created, scroll down the page and select some keywords. These are the search terms which your advert will be displayed for. Keywords are crucial to the success of your advert, so if you have not done so already, we strongly recommend carrying out some keyword research on the best terms to use for your target market. Once you’ve entered some keywords, Google will estimate your daily number of clicks and the cost of your campaign. Based on this you may want to go back and adjust your maximum bids and/or budget cap.
Launching Your Advert
When you are happy with all your details, go ahead and save your Ad Group. Your ad will now show as pending while Google approves the advert. As soon as this approval is granted, your ad will start displaying at your chosen times and location.
And that is it: a basic text advert displaying to your target market in (hopefully) a little under 10 minutes! If nothing else, this should demonstrate the raw potential of Google AdWords as a sales and marketing tool. By using Google AdWords you could start gaining additional traffic and conversions very quickly indeed. At all times you remain in control of your budget and can always tweak your campaign based on the conversion and click data that starts coming through.
Successful Advertising On Google AdWords
Google AdWords works best a long-term marketing endeavour, rather than a one-off tactic. The more you use the platform, the more you will learn about the right keywords to use, the right keywords to exclude, and the browsing habits of your market. This knowledge feeds into other areas of your marketing strategy, such as SEO and social media, letting you increase conversions and engage with new customers.
