Blog entries categorized under Adwords/Pay Per Click https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/categories/9-adwords-pay-per-click 2015-04-13T01:59:39+12:00 Joomla! - Open Source Content Management 2014-05-10T15:46:00+12:00 2014-05-10T15:46:00+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/138-5-tweaks-that-will-improve-your-adwords-campaign Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>Google adwords can be a bit overwhelming for the beginner.</p> <p>There are a lot of settings to decide on, and helpfully (or not!) some will be set by Adwords automatically. Then it's up to you to change them to what you want.</p> <p>If you are not familiar with Adwords, these settings can be fine at first although you may spend more money using the default settings.&nbsp; After all, Google is a business and they aren't going to discourage you from spending money!</p> <p>So, once you are more comfortable using the Adwords interface, what are some simple tweaks that can get you more bang for buck (especially if you are working with a modest budget)?</p>

<p>Google adwords can be a bit overwhelming for the beginner.</p> <p>There are a lot of settings to decide on, and helpfully (or not!) some will be set by Adwords automatically. Then it's up to you to change them to what you want.</p> <p>If you are not familiar with Adwords, these settings can be fine at first although you may spend more money using the default settings.&nbsp; After all, Google is a business and they aren't going to discourage you from spending money!</p> <p>So, once you are more comfortable using the Adwords interface, what are some simple tweaks that can get you more bang for buck (especially if you are working with a modest budget)?</p> 2013-11-13T09:59:10+13:00 2013-11-13T09:59:10+13:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/133-why-aren-t-my-google-adwords-showing-up Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>(updated August 2014)</p> <p>If you are running Google Adwords, there's a good chance that you haven't been able to resist searching with your target keywords to see if your ad shows up, where and how it looks.</p> <p>You have also probably come across a situation where your ad doesn't show up – either it doesn't show up no matter what you search for, or it shows up for some phrases and not others.&nbsp;</p> <p>And so naturally, you become concerned that something is wrong.&nbsp; But don't worry - there are legitimate reasons why this happens.&nbsp; Here are the most common:</p> <h3>You have used up your daily budget</h3> <p>If your daily budget is small, you can reach the limit quite quickly. So Google will try and schedule the delivery of your ads to get the best results – from that you can assume that there will be quite long periods of time that your ads won't show no matter what you search for.</p> <p>This is more likely to be the case for high volume search terms and low budgets. You can choose accelerated delivery if you don't mind your budget being used up within a short space of time but we don't recommend it unless there is a very particular reason.</p> <h3>Your ads are limited to a certain time of day and/or day of the week.</h3> <p>If your target audience is unlikely to be looking for your products and services on a weekend, showing your ads in that time may well lead to low-quality clicks on your ads.</p> <p>So to get more 'bang for buck' it makes sense to limit when it is show. Which means if you search for your ad outside those times – you won't see it.</p> <h3>Low volume search terms.</h3> <p>If a search term historically has had very low numbers of searches, Google's system can decide not to show the ads. These keyword phrases may (or may not) have a message next to them saying 'rarely shown due to low search volume'.</p> <p>Google's response to this is to wait until the term starts to get higher traffic volumes which isn't particularly helpful – it might be that the search term gets low volume, but they could still be very profitable phrases for you.</p> <p>Having said that, based on my experience the number would have to be VERY low for Google to elect not to show them.&nbsp;&nbsp; We also often exclude very low volume phrases if their click through rate (CTR) is also low because this can affect the overall performance of the campaign in terms of bidding cost.</p> <h3>Repeatedly searching for your own ads.</h3> <p>If you repeatedly search for your own ad on Google Search but never click on it, you may stop seeing it. This is because Google's system recognizes your computer and stops showing you ads it thinks you not interested in.<br>Some advertiser's campaigns are based on impression numbers – ie they pay when the ad is shown, not clicked on. So this would be bad for them in particular.</p> <h3>Location restrictions</h3> <p>If you are targeting a specific location and you aren't in it – you won't see the ad. Because of the way New Zealand's IP numbers were allocated historically, location targeting can be unreliable, so in fact you may still see ads even if you are <em>outside</em> the target location.</p> <h3>Low quality score</h3> <p>If your ad quality score is low it means Google doesn't think it is a good match for a particular search phrase and can limit how often it is shown (or not show it at all). Google wants people to have a good experience – not see ads (and organic results for that matter) that are unrelated to what they are looking for.</p> <h3>Policy violations or restrictions</h3> <p>A particular ad may not be showing for violating any one of a long list of Google's ad policies.</p> <p>Restricted products that can't be advertised include weapons, cigarettes, pyrotechnic devices, sexual services or products made from endangered species. There are also limits to how and where you can advertise alcohol, financial and legal services. Use of brand names and trademarks (eg iPhone) are also limited depending on the brand owner.</p> <p>Your ad may have something technically wrong with it like conflicting display and destination URLs or there's something up with your landing page.</p> <p>If your ad has been declined for a policy violation you probably know about it anyway.</p> <h3>Other hard-to-spot and minor infractions that can trip you up</h3> <ul> <li>If you set your daily budget to $5, and the average cost-per-click on your account is $7.00 clearly it's not going to get off the ground</li> <li>If you are using Google's Autobid feature, make sure the default CPC is not too low - we've seen campaigns stalled because Adwords has based the CPC on historic data that just doesn't gell with more recent CPC prices.</li> <li>Negative keywords that conflict - if you have a negative keyword that is set to broad match, it might conflict with the keywords meant to trigger your ads, effectively blocking them.&nbsp; Adwords will normally alert you to a conflict, so watch for notification.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>If all else fails, ask for help</h3> <p>We've found the Google Support folk very helpful, so if you get really stuck - ask them to check your campaign.&nbsp; You will generally get a response and some kind of resolution within 48 hours.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>(updated August 2014)</p> <p>If you are running Google Adwords, there's a good chance that you haven't been able to resist searching with your target keywords to see if your ad shows up, where and how it looks.</p> <p>You have also probably come across a situation where your ad doesn't show up – either it doesn't show up no matter what you search for, or it shows up for some phrases and not others.&nbsp;</p> <p>And so naturally, you become concerned that something is wrong.&nbsp; But don't worry - there are legitimate reasons why this happens.&nbsp; Here are the most common:</p> <h3>You have used up your daily budget</h3> <p>If your daily budget is small, you can reach the limit quite quickly. So Google will try and schedule the delivery of your ads to get the best results – from that you can assume that there will be quite long periods of time that your ads won't show no matter what you search for.</p> <p>This is more likely to be the case for high volume search terms and low budgets. You can choose accelerated delivery if you don't mind your budget being used up within a short space of time but we don't recommend it unless there is a very particular reason.</p> <h3>Your ads are limited to a certain time of day and/or day of the week.</h3> <p>If your target audience is unlikely to be looking for your products and services on a weekend, showing your ads in that time may well lead to low-quality clicks on your ads.</p> <p>So to get more 'bang for buck' it makes sense to limit when it is show. Which means if you search for your ad outside those times – you won't see it.</p> <h3>Low volume search terms.</h3> <p>If a search term historically has had very low numbers of searches, Google's system can decide not to show the ads. These keyword phrases may (or may not) have a message next to them saying 'rarely shown due to low search volume'.</p> <p>Google's response to this is to wait until the term starts to get higher traffic volumes which isn't particularly helpful – it might be that the search term gets low volume, but they could still be very profitable phrases for you.</p> <p>Having said that, based on my experience the number would have to be VERY low for Google to elect not to show them.&nbsp;&nbsp; We also often exclude very low volume phrases if their click through rate (CTR) is also low because this can affect the overall performance of the campaign in terms of bidding cost.</p> <h3>Repeatedly searching for your own ads.</h3> <p>If you repeatedly search for your own ad on Google Search but never click on it, you may stop seeing it. This is because Google's system recognizes your computer and stops showing you ads it thinks you not interested in.<br>Some advertiser's campaigns are based on impression numbers – ie they pay when the ad is shown, not clicked on. So this would be bad for them in particular.</p> <h3>Location restrictions</h3> <p>If you are targeting a specific location and you aren't in it – you won't see the ad. Because of the way New Zealand's IP numbers were allocated historically, location targeting can be unreliable, so in fact you may still see ads even if you are <em>outside</em> the target location.</p> <h3>Low quality score</h3> <p>If your ad quality score is low it means Google doesn't think it is a good match for a particular search phrase and can limit how often it is shown (or not show it at all). Google wants people to have a good experience – not see ads (and organic results for that matter) that are unrelated to what they are looking for.</p> <h3>Policy violations or restrictions</h3> <p>A particular ad may not be showing for violating any one of a long list of Google's ad policies.</p> <p>Restricted products that can't be advertised include weapons, cigarettes, pyrotechnic devices, sexual services or products made from endangered species. There are also limits to how and where you can advertise alcohol, financial and legal services. Use of brand names and trademarks (eg iPhone) are also limited depending on the brand owner.</p> <p>Your ad may have something technically wrong with it like conflicting display and destination URLs or there's something up with your landing page.</p> <p>If your ad has been declined for a policy violation you probably know about it anyway.</p> <h3>Other hard-to-spot and minor infractions that can trip you up</h3> <ul> <li>If you set your daily budget to $5, and the average cost-per-click on your account is $7.00 clearly it's not going to get off the ground</li> <li>If you are using Google's Autobid feature, make sure the default CPC is not too low - we've seen campaigns stalled because Adwords has based the CPC on historic data that just doesn't gell with more recent CPC prices.</li> <li>Negative keywords that conflict - if you have a negative keyword that is set to broad match, it might conflict with the keywords meant to trigger your ads, effectively blocking them.&nbsp; Adwords will normally alert you to a conflict, so watch for notification.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>If all else fails, ask for help</h3> <p>We've found the Google Support folk very helpful, so if you get really stuck - ask them to check your campaign.&nbsp; You will generally get a response and some kind of resolution within 48 hours.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> 2012-07-22T14:39:59+12:00 2012-07-22T14:39:59+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/89-keyword-matching-explained Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>There are three types of Keyword matching in Adwords:</p> <ul> <li>Broad</li> <li>Phrase</li> <li>Exact</li> </ul> <p><strong>Broad Match</strong></p> <p>Let's look at the difference between each one using the seed word 'chocolate'.</p> <p>As the name suggests, a broad match for the keyword chocolate will be any search phrase that includes the word chocolate in any order including plurals, close variations and synonyms:</p> <ul> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> cake</li> <li>making <strong>chocolate</strong> at home</li> <li>low sugar <strong>chocolate</strong></li> <li>milk <strong>chocolate</strong></li> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> chip cookies</li> <li>cakes with chokolate</li> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> cakes</li> <li>etc</li> </ul> <p><strong>Phrase Match</strong></p> <p>If you set a single keyword to phrase match it will get the same results as above, but for multiple word phrases such as chocolate cake, you will get results that have the words in that order, eg:</p> <ul> <li><strong>chocolate cake</strong> recipies</li> <li>best <strong>chocolate cake</strong></li> <li>yummy <strong>chocolate cake</strong> images</li> </ul> <p>Keywords set to phrase match will show with "quote marks"</p> <p><strong>Exact Match</strong></p> <p>This means your ad won't show unless the search types in exactly the same phrase in that order (but will include synonyms and close variants) .  These words will show with [square brackets].</p> <p><strong>Broad Match Modifier</strong></p> <p>Adding a + sign before a keyword phrase set to broad match will mean the search phrase has to include that word eg +chocolate cake +recipies.</p> <p> </p>

<p>There are three types of Keyword matching in Adwords:</p> <ul> <li>Broad</li> <li>Phrase</li> <li>Exact</li> </ul> <p><strong>Broad Match</strong></p> <p>Let's look at the difference between each one using the seed word 'chocolate'.</p> <p>As the name suggests, a broad match for the keyword chocolate will be any search phrase that includes the word chocolate in any order including plurals, close variations and synonyms:</p> <ul> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> cake</li> <li>making <strong>chocolate</strong> at home</li> <li>low sugar <strong>chocolate</strong></li> <li>milk <strong>chocolate</strong></li> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> chip cookies</li> <li>cakes with chokolate</li> <li><strong>chocolate</strong> cakes</li> <li>etc</li> </ul> <p><strong>Phrase Match</strong></p> <p>If you set a single keyword to phrase match it will get the same results as above, but for multiple word phrases such as chocolate cake, you will get results that have the words in that order, eg:</p> <ul> <li><strong>chocolate cake</strong> recipies</li> <li>best <strong>chocolate cake</strong></li> <li>yummy <strong>chocolate cake</strong> images</li> </ul> <p>Keywords set to phrase match will show with "quote marks"</p> <p><strong>Exact Match</strong></p> <p>This means your ad won't show unless the search types in exactly the same phrase in that order (but will include synonyms and close variants) .  These words will show with [square brackets].</p> <p><strong>Broad Match Modifier</strong></p> <p>Adding a + sign before a keyword phrase set to broad match will mean the search phrase has to include that word eg +chocolate cake +recipies.</p> <p> </p> 2012-07-21T16:34:02+12:00 2012-07-21T16:34:02+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/88-7-signs-your-adwords-campaign-is-not-running-as-well-as-it-could Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>Something is not right.  You have that niggling feeling that you aren't getting as much out of your investment in Adwords as you could.</p> <p>How do you know if your campaign is running as well as it could?</p> <p>First things - is it generating quality leads and/or sales?</p> <p>That is the most important factor.  If it's increasing your profits, then that's all good then. </p> <p>Unlesss....</p> <p>You aren't getting a good return on your investment</p> <p>If you are paying $1000 a month for your Adwords campaign including management fees and you are seeing a $1500 increase in revenue, then that's good too, right?</p> <p>But revenue doesn't mean profit.  If that $1500 only results in $500 profit then you are at least $500 worse off.</p> <p>This is why tracking the sales that comes from Adwords is very important. </p> <p>So, what are the signs within the campaign itself that indicate it could be improved.</p> <h3>The Seven Signs</h3> <p>1.  There is no conversion tracking in place</p> <p>If you haven't got Google Analytics linked to your Adwords Account and have conversion tracking in place you won't know how successful your campaign is.  Conversion tracking is when you can measure each enquiry form completion, document download, sign up or sale.</p> <p>Even if your business is one that can't track anything tangible, you could look at factors like time on site.</p> <p>2. The click through rates are low.</p> <p>What is an acceptable click through rate (CTR)?  It's hard to say, but we consider anything less that 3% an area for improvement.  We do see clients with click-throughs of 1o%, 35% and higher but this is unusual except for very specific search phrases.  The more generic the phrase, the lower the click through rate.  If you've got click through rates between 0.0 and 2%, I'd be looking at those keywords and dumping them, or trying to improve the click through rate.</p> <p>Look at the click through rates of each keyword individually, not the campaign as a whole. Dump the ones that are getting low CTRs. Look at the CTR of your Ads as well, and test out different wording to improve their click rate.</p> <p>3. Low quality scores</p> <p>If your quality score is less than 5, this can increase the amount you pay for the click and lower the position at which your ad is shown which will in turn lower your click through rates.</p> <p>4. Large numbers of keywords.</p> <p>If you have a large number (20, 30 or more) all under one Ad Group and/or with only one or two ads being triggered this is a sign of a poorly targeted campaign.</p> <p>There is no 'rule' about how many keywords in each group, but the smaller the number the better targeting you can do.</p> <p>5. Broad Match Types</p> <p>If you set your keywords to use the match type 'Broad' then you could be getting a lot of search phrases triggering your ads that are not that relevant to your offer.</p> <p>For example a broad match on 'hotel' could include 'luxury hotel', 'cheap hotel', 'back packers hotel' 'five star hotel' 'hotel with casino' 'family friendly hotel' etc.  And you can see not all of these would be relevant to an exclusive, 5 star hotel.</p> <p>For more see <a target="_blank" href="blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/89-keyword-matching-explained">Keyword Match Types Explained</a></p> <p>6. Low impression numbers</p> <p>This can be simply because your budget it set too low. Once you met your daily limit of click charges (if you've set one) your ads will stop showing.</p> <p>You may also be targeting keywords that people simply don't use when looking for your products or services.</p> <p>Or it could be that your target audience doesn't look for what you offer via search (Yes, it DOES happen).</p> <p>OR - no one wants what you have to offer - worse case scenario, but that happens too!</p> <p>7. Low conversion rates.</p> <p>Click through rates good but still no sales? </p> <p>If you know you have a compelling offer, It's probably your landing page at fault and will be because of:</p> <ul> <li>One size fits all landing page (or sending them to your homepage)</li> <li>Lack of relevance between their search phrase, your ad and the offer on the page</li> <li>Poor design - including cluttered, illegible pages with poor grammar</li> <li>No clear call to action</li> <li>Too many distractions</li> </ul> <p>Refer to the article <a href="blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/84-crafting-great-campaign-landing-pages">Crafting great campaign landing pages</a> to see how to improve this one.</p> <p>There are lots of things you can do to improve performance of a campaign so you have to always be testing and trying new things. Keep what works, and stop doing what doesn't!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>Something is not right.  You have that niggling feeling that you aren't getting as much out of your investment in Adwords as you could.</p> <p>How do you know if your campaign is running as well as it could?</p> <p>First things - is it generating quality leads and/or sales?</p> <p>That is the most important factor.  If it's increasing your profits, then that's all good then. </p> <p>Unlesss....</p> <p>You aren't getting a good return on your investment</p> <p>If you are paying $1000 a month for your Adwords campaign including management fees and you are seeing a $1500 increase in revenue, then that's good too, right?</p> <p>But revenue doesn't mean profit.  If that $1500 only results in $500 profit then you are at least $500 worse off.</p> <p>This is why tracking the sales that comes from Adwords is very important. </p> <p>So, what are the signs within the campaign itself that indicate it could be improved.</p> <h3>The Seven Signs</h3> <p>1.  There is no conversion tracking in place</p> <p>If you haven't got Google Analytics linked to your Adwords Account and have conversion tracking in place you won't know how successful your campaign is.  Conversion tracking is when you can measure each enquiry form completion, document download, sign up or sale.</p> <p>Even if your business is one that can't track anything tangible, you could look at factors like time on site.</p> <p>2. The click through rates are low.</p> <p>What is an acceptable click through rate (CTR)?  It's hard to say, but we consider anything less that 3% an area for improvement.  We do see clients with click-throughs of 1o%, 35% and higher but this is unusual except for very specific search phrases.  The more generic the phrase, the lower the click through rate.  If you've got click through rates between 0.0 and 2%, I'd be looking at those keywords and dumping them, or trying to improve the click through rate.</p> <p>Look at the click through rates of each keyword individually, not the campaign as a whole. Dump the ones that are getting low CTRs. Look at the CTR of your Ads as well, and test out different wording to improve their click rate.</p> <p>3. Low quality scores</p> <p>If your quality score is less than 5, this can increase the amount you pay for the click and lower the position at which your ad is shown which will in turn lower your click through rates.</p> <p>4. Large numbers of keywords.</p> <p>If you have a large number (20, 30 or more) all under one Ad Group and/or with only one or two ads being triggered this is a sign of a poorly targeted campaign.</p> <p>There is no 'rule' about how many keywords in each group, but the smaller the number the better targeting you can do.</p> <p>5. Broad Match Types</p> <p>If you set your keywords to use the match type 'Broad' then you could be getting a lot of search phrases triggering your ads that are not that relevant to your offer.</p> <p>For example a broad match on 'hotel' could include 'luxury hotel', 'cheap hotel', 'back packers hotel' 'five star hotel' 'hotel with casino' 'family friendly hotel' etc.  And you can see not all of these would be relevant to an exclusive, 5 star hotel.</p> <p>For more see <a target="_blank" href="blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/89-keyword-matching-explained">Keyword Match Types Explained</a></p> <p>6. Low impression numbers</p> <p>This can be simply because your budget it set too low. Once you met your daily limit of click charges (if you've set one) your ads will stop showing.</p> <p>You may also be targeting keywords that people simply don't use when looking for your products or services.</p> <p>Or it could be that your target audience doesn't look for what you offer via search (Yes, it DOES happen).</p> <p>OR - no one wants what you have to offer - worse case scenario, but that happens too!</p> <p>7. Low conversion rates.</p> <p>Click through rates good but still no sales? </p> <p>If you know you have a compelling offer, It's probably your landing page at fault and will be because of:</p> <ul> <li>One size fits all landing page (or sending them to your homepage)</li> <li>Lack of relevance between their search phrase, your ad and the offer on the page</li> <li>Poor design - including cluttered, illegible pages with poor grammar</li> <li>No clear call to action</li> <li>Too many distractions</li> </ul> <p>Refer to the article <a href="blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/84-crafting-great-campaign-landing-pages">Crafting great campaign landing pages</a> to see how to improve this one.</p> <p>There are lots of things you can do to improve performance of a campaign so you have to always be testing and trying new things. Keep what works, and stop doing what doesn't!</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> 2012-07-19T14:21:09+12:00 2012-07-19T14:21:09+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/87-what-do-adwords-and-drift-net-fishing-have-in-common Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>When you think about it, drift net fishing and Adwords campaigns are both designed to put food on the table.</p> <p>But other than that, surely they have nothing in common?! What kind of mad analogy is this? Well, just stay with me!</p> <h3>Drift net fishing</h3> <p>Drift net fishing involves large nets, with a combination of floats and weights to keep the net hanging vertical in the water. It's popular because it's cost effective for fishing companies, and brings in large amounts of fish in one catch. But they are also often referred to as 'walls of death' because anything that comes in contact with the nets are likely to perish.</p> <p>The big concern with this type of fishing is that 'unintended' targets are also caught in the net. Not just small fish and species not intended for sale, but dolphins, turtles, sharks, seals and sea birds. Which is bad from both sustainability and animal welfare perspectives.</p> <p>So how can an innocent Adwords campaign be compared to something so controversial and devastating for it's victims?</p> <p>Well, drift nets are set (usually by low powered vessels) and left to 'see what gets caught'. Sometimes they come adrift and are lost to cause havoc around the oceans (called Ghost nets).</p> <h3>And they're like Adwords campaigns because...</h3> <p>This is much like many Adwords campaigns that take a 'one size grabs all' approach.</p> <p>These would be campaigns set-up with:</p> <ul> <li>broad match generic keywords only loosely related to the business</li> <li>non specific ad text</li> <li>website home pages as the destination for all – i.e. no offer specific landing pages</li> </ul> <p>Adwords campaigns are sometimes left alone or even forgotten about - till the bill comes in!</p> <h3>Who are they hurting?</h3> <p>Who is the victim in this scenario? Not people who click on the ads only to find a poor match to their need – although this can be annoying.</p> <p>It's the business. They end up paying for ad clicks that don't lead to sales. Or they lead to sales with low profit margins. A poor user experience can mean the brand's reputation may also take a hit.</p> <p>It's understandable that many businesses are wooed by the potential size of the catch – in the form of search volumes. Offers of easy set up and low maintenance are persuasive.<br>But many are left wondering why the campaign doesn't actually put food on the table.</p> <h3>The fishermen know</h3> <p>Ask any fisherman. The old fashioned way with a line and reel means equipment, bait, time and even method can be carefully chosen with a specific fish in mind. Like using Sardines to catch Snapper or Squid to catch Hapuka. And if the fish aren't biting – well, just move to another spot, try another hook or use different bait.</p> <p>And as for the wildlife caught by mistake? Anything that is too small or not the right species can be released to live another day. Yay.</p> <h3>Patience and persistence catches the fish</h3> <p>Adwords campaigns need care and attention.</p> <p>Not just obsessing over bids but thinking about what bait to use, where the best spot is and what kind of 'fish' you want to catch.</p> <p>Like fishing it takes patience and practice. And it doesn't hurt to have a crusty old fisherman (or person) to help you with it.</p>

<p>When you think about it, drift net fishing and Adwords campaigns are both designed to put food on the table.</p> <p>But other than that, surely they have nothing in common?! What kind of mad analogy is this? Well, just stay with me!</p> <h3>Drift net fishing</h3> <p>Drift net fishing involves large nets, with a combination of floats and weights to keep the net hanging vertical in the water. It's popular because it's cost effective for fishing companies, and brings in large amounts of fish in one catch. But they are also often referred to as 'walls of death' because anything that comes in contact with the nets are likely to perish.</p> <p>The big concern with this type of fishing is that 'unintended' targets are also caught in the net. Not just small fish and species not intended for sale, but dolphins, turtles, sharks, seals and sea birds. Which is bad from both sustainability and animal welfare perspectives.</p> <p>So how can an innocent Adwords campaign be compared to something so controversial and devastating for it's victims?</p> <p>Well, drift nets are set (usually by low powered vessels) and left to 'see what gets caught'. Sometimes they come adrift and are lost to cause havoc around the oceans (called Ghost nets).</p> <h3>And they're like Adwords campaigns because...</h3> <p>This is much like many Adwords campaigns that take a 'one size grabs all' approach.</p> <p>These would be campaigns set-up with:</p> <ul> <li>broad match generic keywords only loosely related to the business</li> <li>non specific ad text</li> <li>website home pages as the destination for all – i.e. no offer specific landing pages</li> </ul> <p>Adwords campaigns are sometimes left alone or even forgotten about - till the bill comes in!</p> <h3>Who are they hurting?</h3> <p>Who is the victim in this scenario? Not people who click on the ads only to find a poor match to their need – although this can be annoying.</p> <p>It's the business. They end up paying for ad clicks that don't lead to sales. Or they lead to sales with low profit margins. A poor user experience can mean the brand's reputation may also take a hit.</p> <p>It's understandable that many businesses are wooed by the potential size of the catch – in the form of search volumes. Offers of easy set up and low maintenance are persuasive.<br>But many are left wondering why the campaign doesn't actually put food on the table.</p> <h3>The fishermen know</h3> <p>Ask any fisherman. The old fashioned way with a line and reel means equipment, bait, time and even method can be carefully chosen with a specific fish in mind. Like using Sardines to catch Snapper or Squid to catch Hapuka. And if the fish aren't biting – well, just move to another spot, try another hook or use different bait.</p> <p>And as for the wildlife caught by mistake? Anything that is too small or not the right species can be released to live another day. Yay.</p> <h3>Patience and persistence catches the fish</h3> <p>Adwords campaigns need care and attention.</p> <p>Not just obsessing over bids but thinking about what bait to use, where the best spot is and what kind of 'fish' you want to catch.</p> <p>Like fishing it takes patience and practice. And it doesn't hurt to have a crusty old fisherman (or person) to help you with it.</p> 2012-06-29T13:51:42+12:00 2012-06-29T13:51:42+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/84-adwords-landing-pages-you-ve-got-one-shot Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>Landing pages are one of the most important pieces of the online promotion puzzle.</p> <p>When your audience clicks on an ad or link you should take them to a purpose built page (sometimes called a squeeze page) or dedicated micro-site.</p> <p>If you dump them onto your website homepage, as many businesses do - it's like getting into a taxi, giving the driver an address and having them drop you off 'somewhere' on the right street.&nbsp; For the visitor it's frustrating.&nbsp; For you, visitors can end up wandering off track and you'll lose the sale. Just because big brands do it, that doesn't make it right!</p>

<p>Landing pages are one of the most important pieces of the online promotion puzzle.</p> <p>When your audience clicks on an ad or link you should take them to a purpose built page (sometimes called a squeeze page) or dedicated micro-site.</p> <p>If you dump them onto your website homepage, as many businesses do - it's like getting into a taxi, giving the driver an address and having them drop you off 'somewhere' on the right street.&nbsp; For the visitor it's frustrating.&nbsp; For you, visitors can end up wandering off track and you'll lose the sale. Just because big brands do it, that doesn't make it right!</p> 2012-05-02T09:43:00+12:00 2012-05-02T09:43:00+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/64-google-adwords-how-to-get-a-copy-of-your-invoice Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>Google does not mail or email invoices, but you can print an invoice from your Adwords account.</p>

<p>Google does not mail or email invoices, but you can print an invoice from your Adwords account.</p> 2011-09-04T17:31:00+12:00 2011-09-04T17:31:00+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/47-google-adwords-a-quick-guide Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>This is a quick guide on how to use Google Adwords for promotion of your business. We focus on the search network (which shows in the search results) rather than the Display Network which shows ads within other websites.</p> <h3>1. Create your Account</h3> <p>Sign up for a <a title="Google Adwords" href="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=adwords&amp;hl=en_US <p>This is a quick guide on how to use Google Adwords for promotion of your business. We focus on the search network (which shows in the search results) rather than the Display Network which shows ads within other websites.</p> <h3>1. Create your Account</h3> <p>Sign up for a <a title="Google Adwords" href="https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=adwords&amp;hl=en_US

2011-08-21T16:32:00+12:00 2011-08-21T16:32:00+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/48-faqs-about-google-adwords Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>The most common questions we get about Google Adwords: how much it costs, how long, what about bogus clicks?</p> <ol> <li> <p>What is the difference between paid search results (PPC) and organic results (SEO)</p> <p><em>Organic results are a list of websites that Google decides is the best fit for the words the searcher entered. Your 'rank' is based on a complex formula of things about your website. You can't pay to appear in this list.</em></p> <p><em>Paid listings appear on the right hand side or top of the organic results.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>What are the set up costs?</p> <p><em>It will cost you a $10.00 set up fee when you enter your billing details. Other than that, there is only the cost of the clicks on your ads - which you specify.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How long will they run for?</p> <p><em>As long as you want, which you can set when you set up the campaign. You can also pause it at any time.</em></p> <p><em>Also, your ads will stop showing when your daily set budget has been reached.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Where do they show up?</p> <p><em>On the right or top of search results, and any display network websites you specify. You can also specify desktop and/or mobile devices.</em></p> <p><em>The display network is a group of websites showing Google ads, within which you can display text, image or video ads.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I stop my competition clicking on my ads?</p> <p><em>Google has steps in place to detect invalid clicks, such as multiple clicks from a single source. If you think there is still a problem, you can contact Google.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How do I know they are working?</p> <p><em>Log into your Adwords account and you can see if your ads are running and how many clicks you are getting.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>What is the Quality Score?</p> <p><em><em>It is an indication of how good a match your Ad is to the keyword you are using to trigger it. It is a combination of relevance, landing page experience and bid.  The lower your quality score, the more you'll have to pay for each click if you want to get it to the number one position.<br /></em></em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I stop at any time?</p> <p><em>Yes, you can pause your campaign or specific ads and keywords at any time.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I run an Adwords campaign independently of my website?</p> <p><em>Yes – you will need a page to promote, but this can either be one that is on your website or completely independent. But there is no reliance on your web developer to set up the campaign itself.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I direct the ads to my homepage?</p> <p><em>Yes but it is likely that you will reduce the number of people who take action if they can't see what they want straight away.</em></p> <p><em>Your homepage has to meet the needs for a range of different visitors to your site, and so will not be focused specifically on the needs of the person who clicked on your ad.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How much will I pay?</p> <p><em>It depends on your budget, goals and the competitiveness of the keywords you are targeting. You can pay anything from a few hundred dollars a month to hundreds of thousands! You can manage the costs per click by improving your quality score, and turning as many leads to sales or enquiries by having a well designed landing page.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Why has my ad been disapproved?</p> <p><em>An ad that is disapproved will not be shown.  Most often this is because the landing page you are sending it to has something on it that goes against Google's Adwords policy.  This can include landing pages with nothing on but links and other poor user experience issues.  If an ad is disapproved, Google will provide more information about why and what to do about it.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Do I have to use an agency or can I do it myself?</p> <p><em>No – you can do it yourself if you feel confident and have the time to manage it correctly. You don't have to be qualified or certified. You can use an agency but shop around to get the best fit for you and your business.</em></p> </li> </ol>

<p>The most common questions we get about Google Adwords: how much it costs, how long, what about bogus clicks?</p> <ol> <li> <p>What is the difference between paid search results (PPC) and organic results (SEO)</p> <p><em>Organic results are a list of websites that Google decides is the best fit for the words the searcher entered. Your 'rank' is based on a complex formula of things about your website. You can't pay to appear in this list.</em></p> <p><em>Paid listings appear on the right hand side or top of the organic results.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>What are the set up costs?</p> <p><em>It will cost you a $10.00 set up fee when you enter your billing details. Other than that, there is only the cost of the clicks on your ads - which you specify.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How long will they run for?</p> <p><em>As long as you want, which you can set when you set up the campaign. You can also pause it at any time.</em></p> <p><em>Also, your ads will stop showing when your daily set budget has been reached.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Where do they show up?</p> <p><em>On the right or top of search results, and any display network websites you specify. You can also specify desktop and/or mobile devices.</em></p> <p><em>The display network is a group of websites showing Google ads, within which you can display text, image or video ads.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I stop my competition clicking on my ads?</p> <p><em>Google has steps in place to detect invalid clicks, such as multiple clicks from a single source. If you think there is still a problem, you can contact Google.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How do I know they are working?</p> <p><em>Log into your Adwords account and you can see if your ads are running and how many clicks you are getting.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>What is the Quality Score?</p> <p><em><em>It is an indication of how good a match your Ad is to the keyword you are using to trigger it. It is a combination of relevance, landing page experience and bid.  The lower your quality score, the more you'll have to pay for each click if you want to get it to the number one position.<br /></em></em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I stop at any time?</p> <p><em>Yes, you can pause your campaign or specific ads and keywords at any time.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I run an Adwords campaign independently of my website?</p> <p><em>Yes – you will need a page to promote, but this can either be one that is on your website or completely independent. But there is no reliance on your web developer to set up the campaign itself.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Can I direct the ads to my homepage?</p> <p><em>Yes but it is likely that you will reduce the number of people who take action if they can't see what they want straight away.</em></p> <p><em>Your homepage has to meet the needs for a range of different visitors to your site, and so will not be focused specifically on the needs of the person who clicked on your ad.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>How much will I pay?</p> <p><em>It depends on your budget, goals and the competitiveness of the keywords you are targeting. You can pay anything from a few hundred dollars a month to hundreds of thousands! You can manage the costs per click by improving your quality score, and turning as many leads to sales or enquiries by having a well designed landing page.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Why has my ad been disapproved?</p> <p><em>An ad that is disapproved will not be shown.  Most often this is because the landing page you are sending it to has something on it that goes against Google's Adwords policy.  This can include landing pages with nothing on but links and other poor user experience issues.  If an ad is disapproved, Google will provide more information about why and what to do about it.</em></p> </li> <li> <p>Do I have to use an agency or can I do it myself?</p> <p><em>No – you can do it yourself if you feel confident and have the time to manage it correctly. You don't have to be qualified or certified. You can use an agency but shop around to get the best fit for you and your business.</em></p> </li> </ol> 2011-05-31T11:15:00+12:00 2011-05-31T11:15:00+12:00 https://www.essenteewebdesign.co.nz/blog/entry/9-adwords-pay-per-click/100-how-to-set-up-your-first-adwords-campaign Sandra Newton [email protected]

<p>This is a short guide to the key steps - Google themselves provide quite a bit of help and it's not hard to work out what to do, but don't accept their 'default' settings automatically - it's in their best interest that you spend as much money as possible - and this isn't always in <strong>your</strong> best interests!</p> <h3>First Steps</h3> <ol> <li>If you haven't got one already, you will need to set up a <a target="_blank" title="Google" href="http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=27441">Google Account</a></li> <li>If you have got one, sign in</li> <li>Sign up for an <a target="_blank" href="adwords.google.com">Adwords Account</a></li> </ol> <p>Once you have an Adwords Account you can setup your first campaign but there is one thing you need to do before you start.</p> <h3>Brainstorm your keywords</h3> <ol> <li>Work out what keywords your audience uses – and which are going to be profitable for you! You might want to record these in a spreadsheet or similar.  There are a variety of <a target="_blank" title="keyword research tools" href="blog/entry/5-search-engine-optimisation/42-free-seo-keyword-research-tools">keyword research tools</a> for you to choose from.</li> <li>Group keyword phrases together under a single 'head' keyword. For example your head keyword might be 'Chocolate recipies' and your keyword phrases grouped under this would include "Chocolate cake recipies"</li> <li>Research how much volume each keyword gets and suggestions for more using Google's keyword Tool.</li> </ol> <p>Once you know what keywords you want to target, it's time to...</p> <h3>Set up your Adwords campaign</h3> <p>1. Log into Adwords and click on "create a new campaign"<br />2. You will be asked to set general settings:</p> <ul> <li>Name the campaign – make it meaningful!</li> <li>Campaign Type - Select Search network only</li> <li>Select devices to target (this will depend on your audience – leave as default to being, you can always change it later)</li> <li>Locations – select "let me choose" and enter country into the field or you can select a number of areas via Advanced Search</li> <li>Set your budget (x dollars per day)</li> </ul> <p>3. Click on Save and Continue</p> <p>4. You will then have to setup a new Adgroup first - an Ad group is a group of one or more ads grouped together with a set of keywords that will trigger the Ads</p> <ul> <li>Enter Ad Group Name</li> <li>Create your first Ad</li> <li>Select Your keywords</li> </ul> <p>5. Click on Save and Continue</p> <p>6. You then need to setup your billing details (but can do it later if you wish).  Billing to your credit card is by far the easier- but watch your budget so you don't get a scare at the end of the month!</p> <p>Google provide tips and links to detailed instructions and help along the way, so follow their guide.  </p> <h3>Once you are done</h3> <p>Once you have setup your first campaign you should go back and fine tune it:</p> <ul> <li>Group small numbers of similar keyword phrases together under ad groups, then target your ad text to those keywords.</li> <li>Change the default keyword match type to phrase or exact, unless you want to do a bit of 'fishing' first. Broad match types will get your ads displayed for all sorts of wild and wonderful search phrases and can result in wasted clicks.</li> <li>Have a least two ads per ad group and test which one does better</li> <li>Monitor your campaign, and focus on improving the quality of your ads to lower cost per click and increase click through rates.</li> <li>Add negative keywords to filter out searches you know you don't want – such as 'cheap' or 'free'.</li> <li>Set up conversion tracking if you are confident with Google Analytics (or your reporting tool) – you can't improve what you can't measure.</li> <li>Don't set it and forget it – monitor performance to test what ad text works best, what keywords get better click rates.</li> </ul>

<p>This is a short guide to the key steps - Google themselves provide quite a bit of help and it's not hard to work out what to do, but don't accept their 'default' settings automatically - it's in their best interest that you spend as much money as possible - and this isn't always in <strong>your</strong> best interests!</p> <h3>First Steps</h3> <ol> <li>If you haven't got one already, you will need to set up a <a target="_blank" title="Google" href="http://support.google.com/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=27441">Google Account</a></li> <li>If you have got one, sign in</li> <li>Sign up for an <a target="_blank" href="adwords.google.com">Adwords Account</a></li> </ol> <p>Once you have an Adwords Account you can setup your first campaign but there is one thing you need to do before you start.</p> <h3>Brainstorm your keywords</h3> <ol> <li>Work out what keywords your audience uses – and which are going to be profitable for you! You might want to record these in a spreadsheet or similar.  There are a variety of <a target="_blank" title="keyword research tools" href="blog/entry/5-search-engine-optimisation/42-free-seo-keyword-research-tools">keyword research tools</a> for you to choose from.</li> <li>Group keyword phrases together under a single 'head' keyword. For example your head keyword might be 'Chocolate recipies' and your keyword phrases grouped under this would include "Chocolate cake recipies"</li> <li>Research how much volume each keyword gets and suggestions for more using Google's keyword Tool.</li> </ol> <p>Once you know what keywords you want to target, it's time to...</p> <h3>Set up your Adwords campaign</h3> <p>1. Log into Adwords and click on "create a new campaign"<br />2. You will be asked to set general settings:</p> <ul> <li>Name the campaign – make it meaningful!</li> <li>Campaign Type - Select Search network only</li> <li>Select devices to target (this will depend on your audience – leave as default to being, you can always change it later)</li> <li>Locations – select "let me choose" and enter country into the field or you can select a number of areas via Advanced Search</li> <li>Set your budget (x dollars per day)</li> </ul> <p>3. Click on Save and Continue</p> <p>4. You will then have to setup a new Adgroup first - an Ad group is a group of one or more ads grouped together with a set of keywords that will trigger the Ads</p> <ul> <li>Enter Ad Group Name</li> <li>Create your first Ad</li> <li>Select Your keywords</li> </ul> <p>5. Click on Save and Continue</p> <p>6. You then need to setup your billing details (but can do it later if you wish).  Billing to your credit card is by far the easier- but watch your budget so you don't get a scare at the end of the month!</p> <p>Google provide tips and links to detailed instructions and help along the way, so follow their guide.  </p> <h3>Once you are done</h3> <p>Once you have setup your first campaign you should go back and fine tune it:</p> <ul> <li>Group small numbers of similar keyword phrases together under ad groups, then target your ad text to those keywords.</li> <li>Change the default keyword match type to phrase or exact, unless you want to do a bit of 'fishing' first. Broad match types will get your ads displayed for all sorts of wild and wonderful search phrases and can result in wasted clicks.</li> <li>Have a least two ads per ad group and test which one does better</li> <li>Monitor your campaign, and focus on improving the quality of your ads to lower cost per click and increase click through rates.</li> <li>Add negative keywords to filter out searches you know you don't want – such as 'cheap' or 'free'.</li> <li>Set up conversion tracking if you are confident with Google Analytics (or your reporting tool) – you can't improve what you can't measure.</li> <li>Don't set it and forget it – monitor performance to test what ad text works best, what keywords get better click rates.</li> </ul>