Google AdWords enables the quick and easy creation and management of online ads for your business. The beauty of Adwords is that budget is of no consequence, your ads will be displayed on Google and its advertising network and you’ll only pay when your ads are clicked on (CPC) or every thousand times your ad is displayed (CPM), whichever route is best for you.
AdWords ads can be displayed along with organic search results when someone searches Google using one of the keywords featured in your ad. This means you’ll be advertising to an audience that’s already interested in your business. You can also choose to display your ads on content sites in the Google Network and select the exact content placements where you’d like your ad to appear, or you can let contextual targeting match your keywords to content.
Does this sound promising for your business but you’re not sure whether you want to take it on alone? Well, you’re in luck as it just so happens Katy is a Qualified Google Advertising Professional.
While working with Chichester Design, Katy from Chichester Copywriter managed Google AdWords accounts, optimising ad copy and maximising rankings in paid search results, for the following clients:
MGD Specialist Interior Finishes
So if you’ld like a certified Google Advertising Professional to manage your online marketing campaigns, for maximum return on your investment, contact Katy today for details.
Chichester Copywriter’s FAQs on Google AdWords Account Management
1. How do Google AdWords work? With Google AdWords, you’ll be able to reach your customers at the precise moment they’re looking for your products or services. When users search using Google.co.uk, they’re demonstrating which products they’re interested in. Your customers will see your Google AdWords ad next to relevant search results they’ve personally requested. In addition, your ads could appear on relevant search and content sites within the Google Content Network. With Google’s precise targeting and your ability to control how much you’re willing to Pay Per Click, the end result is a higher Return on Investment (ROI) for your advertising budget.
2. Where will my AdWords ads appear? If you are familiar with the Google search engine you will notice that when you type in a search term such as “Copywriter in Chichester” that the paid or sponsored ads appear in a box above the organic search results on the left of the webpage as well as in a column down the right hand side of the page. These look slightly different and usually consist of a headline, two short lines of specific ad text and a neat clickable url. In contrast, the organic search results consist of a headline, a longer description and clickable url.
3. Can you make sure that my ads always appear in the top position? Chichester Copywriter cannot guarantee a particular ad position; no one can guarantee this as it’s determined by your ad’s Quality Score and Cost Per Click (CPC) bid.
Your Quality Score is a measure of how relevant your ad, keyword and webpage is. Quality Scores help ensure that only the most relevant ads appear in Google’s search engines and the Google Content Network.
For the search network, a Quality Score is assigned to each of your keywords and is measured by how relevant it is to your ad group and to the user’s search query. The higher a keyword’s Quality Score, the lower its CPC and the better the ad position.
For the content network, a Quality Score is assigned to each of your ads. It measures how relevant your ad is to a particular page in the content network. The higher an ad’s Quality Score, the more likely it is to appear on a content page and the higher its position will be.
4. Do people look at the paid search results or do they just focus on the organic search results? When looking for something specific the paid ads are far more useful. The ad text is more relevant and less diluted than the organic search results. For example, when wanting to buy a Sony TV online an ad that links straight through to a page where you can actually buy the product or at least compare prices is far more useful to you than someone’s blog that mentions a Sony TV in passing.
5. How does PPC (Pay Per Click) work? Your ad may show up in search results or placed next to a relevant article on the content network but it costs nothing to just display your ad. Pay Per Click means exactly that, you only pay when a user sees your ad as relevant to them and they actually click on the ad, offering a cost-effective way of acquiring new customers.
6. Are there any payment options, other than Pay Per Click? You can also choose Cost Per Thousand (CPM) advertising, where you pay for every 1000 impressions your ad receives i.e. you pay every thousand times it is shown. The price you pay is the same whether users click on the ad or not. This is different from CPC campaigns, where you pay only when your ad receives a click.
This pricing model is most suitable for advertisers who want the flexibility to reach customers early in the advertising cycle, with ads designed to increase awareness but not necessarily generate clicks or traffic.
Advertisers can choose between setting maximum CPM bids and preferred CPM bids. A maximum CPM bid is the most you’re willing to pay for 1000 impressions of your ad, although the amount actually paid is rarely as much as this bid. The AdWords discounter automatically reduces any winning CPM bid so that the amount charged is the minimum necessary to keep the ad’s position on the page. A preferred CPM bid is the average amount you’d like to pay for 1000 impressions.
CPM bidding is available only for campaigns that don’t target the search network. CPM ads are ranked for display according to their CPM bid, competing with other CPM ads and with CPC ads. A CPM ad always occupies the entire ad space, with either an image ad or other multimedia ad, or an expanded text ad.
Google ads with CPM pricing continue to have a very high level of relevancy. CPM advertisers use placement targeting to select the specific audience that will be interested in their message. CPM ads compete with CPC ads, and high relevancy continues to boost the ranking of those CPC ads.
7. Why would AdWords benefit me?
Reach : each month hundreds of millions of users worldwide view AdWords ads. AdWords can offer you instant access to this vast audience of potential customers.
Cost: AdWords is cost-effective for businesses of all sizes. You can choose to pay for ad clicks (CPC) or for impressions (CPM). Because you can choose your own CPC or CPM amounts, you decide how much you’ll pay each time someone clicks or views your ad. There’s no minimum spending limit. In addition, you can set a maximum daily spend (daily budget) that the AdWords system won’t exceed and you can edit your budget settings at any time.
Timing: Google AdWords ads engage potential customers at precisely the right moment – when users are actively searching for information (keywords or content) related to your particular business. AdWords ads ensure that your website is only a single click away.
Flexibility and Control: You can edit an existing ad, and then see your updates within 15 minutes. You can edit your account at any time, as often as you like, or of course Chichester Copywriter can do this for you. AdWords is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ads start running almost immediately after you activate your account with your credit card or direct debit information.
8. How do keyword bids work? An auction is run every time a user enters a search query, which determines which ads show for this query and in what order. The AdWords system evaluates your keyword for each auction and calculates its Quality Score. The Quality Score is based on the recent performance of the keyword and your ad, how relevant the two are to the search query, and other relevance factors (see above).
The AdWords system then calculates a CPC bid requirement based on this Quality Score, which applies only for this auction; the higher the score, the lower the bid requirement, and vice versa. If the keyword’s CPC bid doesn’t meet the requirement, the keyword can’t trigger an ad for this particular auction.
9. How much will AdWords cost me? One reason AdWords ads have such incredible ROI is that your “I” is so little. You decide what you’re willing to pay for each click on your ad, and you place a limit on what you’d like to spend each day (there’s no minimum spending requirement). Your CPC could be as low as 1p. Here’s the best part – you only pay Google when people click on your ad. That means you’re investing in definite leads, not hit-or-miss ads. So you should think of it as value or investment, rather than “cost”. Please contact katy@chichestercopywriter.co.uk if you’d like to see the How Adwords Can Pay for Itself flow chart.
10. Am I committed/ contracted to this spend? You are in complete control of how much you spend, there’s no minimum and no maximum spending limit and you are not obliged by any contract with regard to how much you spend. You can set a daily budget that the AdWords system won’t exceed so that you never spend more than a certain amount each day. You can also edit this daily budget at any time you wish. Chichester Copywriter can either modify or cancel your ads whenever you wish, so if you are low on marketing spend one month or you have enough trade and don’t need to drum up any more, your account can be paused and spending stopped until we activate it again.
11. What are my payment options? Google payment options are divided into two types: postpay and prepay.
Postpay
If you select a postpay option, you’ll make payments only after you accrue advertising costs. You’ll be billed 30 days after your last payment or when your account costs reach your billing threshold, whichever comes first.
Google currently offers two types of postpay; providing that both are available to you, you can switch between them at any time.
Credit and debit card: If you choose this option, your ads will begin running almost immediately after you enter valid credit or debit card information. All AdWords charges will be made to this card.
Direct debit: If you choose this option, Google will deduct AdWords payments from your bank account. You may be required to submit a debit authorization or verify a test deposit before your ads can run.
If you use postpay, we recommend entering a backup credit card in your account. If your primary form of payment is ever declined, Google will attempt to charge your backup credit card to help ensure that your ads run continuously.
Prepay
If you select a prepay option, you’ll pay for advertising in advance of receiving any clicks or impressions. You can add funds to your AdWords account whenever you like, and Google will deduct costs from that balance. Google will notify us when your balance is running low. If you do run out of funds, your ads will stop showing until you make another payment. Google offers two widely available types of prepay:
Credit and debit card: If you choose this option, Google will charge your credit or debit card the amount that you specify, and your account balance will update almost immediately.
Bank transfer: If you choose this option, you’ll make AdWords payments by transferring funds from your bank account to Google’s bank account. Your ads will begin running as soon as we receive and process your payment. This typically takes 5 to 10 business days, depending on your country and what bank you use.
Note that you won’t be able to switch from a postpay option to a prepay option or vice versa, so be careful when selecting your payment method as you set up your account.
12. How secure is my payment information? Very. Google understands that making an advertising purchase online involves a great deal of trust on your part. They take this trust very seriously, and make the security and confidentiality of your information their highest priority.
Google uses industry-standard SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology to protect every interaction you have with the AdWords system. This protects your payment type and other personal information. Once they receive your information, they not only store it behind a firewall, but also encrypt the sensitive payment information.
Chichester Copywriter nor Google nor their payment partners ever share or sell your personal information. The information you provide will be used solely for the purpose for which it was provided.
Credit/Debit Cards and Bank Account Details
Billing information is checked against the account information by our third-party payment processor. If the information submitted is invalid, the payment information will not be accepted. Any irregularities will be reviewed by an AdWords Specialist.
Bank Transfers
For many different locations and currencies, Google works with a third-party service provider to offer our advertisers a secure way to fund their AdWords accounts using bank transfers. When you pay via bank transfer, your payments are initially sent to a bank account in your country or territory which belongs to this service provider.
The provider then securely processes your payment and sends the funds to Google. Since your payment is made to this third party, their name or the name of their local subsidiary may appear in the account name to which you are instructed to transfer your payments.
13. How long will it take for my ads to go live? Ads start running for the first time almost immediately after you activate your account with your credit card or direct debit information. So, as soon as you’ve had your consultation and Chichester Copywriter’s set up you account you can start seeing a Return On your Investment.
14. How do I know if my ads are working and how can I improve on them?Unlike other advertising, you can do more than just put your AdWords ads out there, cross your fingers, and hold your breath. Instead, with online tracking tools, Chichester Copywriter can keep a close watch on their effectiveness to determine which of your ads are generating the most clicks and which are converting to sales, leads, sign-ups, downloads or page views. And, we can alter and refine your AdWords continually to drive even better results.
There are a few measures of success that we can look at:
Click Through Rate (CTR): To get an immediate idea of how well a campaign is doing, check the CTR – how often people click through to your ad after seeing it. As a rule of thumb, a CTR under 1% indicates that your ads are not targeted to a relevant audience.
Keyword Status: Google’s system will help you monitor your results by automatically evaluating your keyword performance and letting you know the status of each of your keywords. An ‘Active’ status means your keyword is eligible to trigger ads.
First Page Bids: another way to evaluate the effectiveness of a keyword-targeted campaign is to check your keywords’ first page bid estimates. Low bid estimates typically indicate that your ads are performing well, while high bid estimates can indicate that your ads are not as relevant as they could be after optimisation.
Return on investment (ROI): is the ratio of your costs to your profits. It shows whether your advertising charges are more or less than the profit your business makes as a result of your ads. To measure your advertising ROI, you’ll need to get data from tools like Google Analytics.
15. Can we have more information about how Adwords works and how it will benefit us? Chichester Copywriter is happy to send you a PDF and a PowerPoint presentation, which will provide more details about Adwords. You are also welcome to contact us at any time with any questions you may have by emailing: Katy@ChichesterCopywriter.co.uk or calling Katy on: 01243 533421.