Objectives of a Successful Google Adwords PPC Campaign

The objectives if any Adwords campaign should include the achievement of the following…

• Maximum volumes of targeted traffic (known as % of impression share)
• Lowest cost per click consistent with high click through rates… The worldwide average click through rate is probably somewhere between 0.5% and 1%
• Lowest cost per conversion to a final action eg a sale or lead by effective copywriting and landing page design.

The reporting system provided by Google allows each of these vital variables to be readily monitored and controlled to extreme levels of detail.

Sponsored listing can be targeted at individual or groups of countries and in a wide range of different languages. It has recently become possible in South Africa to even target geographical regions eg searchers within a 150 kms radius of Johannesburg.

Keywords are the Basis for Understanding Most Internet Marketing Strategies… and Especially Google Adwords

Shark Diving in Gansbaai…

When a person enters a search term into Google that person is expressing a need at that point in time. The need could be to buy an item or review a product or just search for information by browsing. A keyword, as entered into the search box, can therefore act as a proxy for indicating a market need. Think of each keyword as a tiny tiny market niche waiting to be fulfilled.

As a simple example when a person types "Shark Diving Gansbaai" into Google it’s highly likely that the searcher is interested in exploring that topic (probably BROWSING). If the searcher was to enter "Shark Diving Boats Gansbaai" then it’s probable that the searcher has done basic research and is now perhaps thinking of booking a shark diving trip (ie SHOPPING). If the person enters "Book Shark Diving Trip Gansbaai" there is an excellent chance that the person wants to BUY a diving trip.

Typically users of search can be split into these 3 broad categories:

1. Browsers
2. Shoppers
3. Buyers

As a general observation (not a rule) searchers closer to the buying point will favour clicking the sponsored links especially if the ads are well written to match targeted searcher needs.

By discovering hundreds and possibly thousands of keyword variations it then becomes possible to create an ad for each of these alternative search terms (lets call them market niches) and therefore meet the initial needs of a searcher… ie match an ad to a search query.

No other advertising medium allows this possibility of matching an individual search query in real time to an organization’s offering.

Consider the following:

A person who has been researching shark diving and has concluded that Gansbaai is the place to go is far more likely to click an ad that contains the words "Shark Diving Gansbaai" than an ad just showing "Shark Diving".

Let’s take a closer look at the Google search results displayed for the search query "Shark Diving Gansbaai". Notice that not a single ad meets the searcher query exactly. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE. The ads talk about shark diving in Cape Town, Western Cape, Gansbaai accommodation etc. The only ad having a reference to shark diving AND Gansbaai is ad number 2 (left side yellow shaded background). It is highly likely that our searcher would click this ad and not the others. This advertiser could have almost guaranteed the click if the words "Shark Diving Gansbaai" had been inserted into the headline.

Notice that only one sponsored link refers to shark diving AND Gansbaai. It is thus highly likely that the searcher will click this ad in preference to others on the same page… notice how Google makes bold the words contained in the search query. Google will give preferential treatment to this ad because as far as Google is concerned it will make more money than any other ad on the same page even if the cost paid for a click is lower than other advertisers’ on this same page. It’s also almost certain that, in addition, the ad will be displayed more often than the other competing ads (larger share of available impressions) thus providing the advertiser with the opportunity to make even more sales.

It’s also probably true that this advertiser is paying less to be in position 2 than ads placed lower than position 2. It’s probably also true to postulate that this same advertiser could knock the number 1 advertiser off top spot without paying more for a click simply by using the headline "Shark Diving Gansbaai"

Here’s the ad enlarged for clarity.

Based upon my 6 years experience of running Google Adwords campaigns (and despite a complete ignorance of anything to do with shark diving) I would have a high degree of confidence that I could outperform the competing advertisers on this page. By this I mean… get more clicks, and pay less for those clicks.

Conclusion:

Through a detailed and comprehensive understanding of keywords, Google bidding strategies and ad copywriting it becomes possible to guide targeted searchers to click relevant ads in preference to competitors’ ads while paying less for the click and getting greater ad exposure.