Matching character and actor is what a good director does.”

-Bruno Dumont, French film director and screenwriter

THE INFLUENCE FACTOR OF GOOGLE ADWORDS

Google Adwords is the Pay-Per-Click advertising service offered by the most trusted search engine around today. The popularity of the search engine has increased to the point that people generally trust Google more than any other news source. Can you believe that? People view Google as an authoritative source, an expert of sorts, and go to Google to find out what’s going on. If you are a business owner or building a personal brand you will want to tap into that influence. One of the best ways to do that is to use Google Adwords.

WORDS CAN BE PROFITIBLE OR COSTLY

There are several aspects to building a successful Adwords campaign, but first and foremost its about words. Your Google Adwords campaign will rely on keywords. Google is a matchmaker. It uses two things that just make sense. People are already searching for products and information. There are tons of businesses that supply those products and information. Why not put the two together? Well, that’s exactly what Google does and they continue to get better and better at it. The biggest problem a company faces in this process is…well…themselves.

If your Google Adwords campaign was a play, then broad keyword selection is the supervillain. Eric Siu states that the #1 mistake that people make in their Adwords campaign is to select a keyword that is too broad. “Here’s a newsflash: if you’re a new advertiser, you’re probably never going to be able to bid your way to the top spot for broad keywords such as ‘women’s shoes.’ Even if you do, you’re going to be paying so much for the privilege that, unless you’re Zappos, it’s unlikely your revenue generated will justify your costs.” His solution: “Start your AdWords campaigns with groups of five to 10 long-tail keywords — preferably those you’ve identified as good candidates from the data found in your Google Analytics or Google Webmaster Tools accounts. Expand your campaigns to broader keywords only as you’re able to prove a positive ROI with these entry-level queries.”

GOOGLE ADWORDS AND FACEBOOK ADS

Another marketing strategy is to pair your Google Adwords campaign with a Facebook Ad campaign. The team at Wordstream see the potential for this “match made in digital marketing heaven”. “AdWords helps you find new customers, while Facebook helps new customers find you.” This is a two prong approach to build a business’ client base.

THE CONS OF PAY-PER-CLICK

Proceed with caution. PPC can be costly. A click does not necessarily result in the goal you created the campaign to reach. If you aren’t set up for the customer interaction, you could lose a potential customer for life. There is a reality that a limited budget can also limit your effectiveness. Traditional marketing metrics argue that a customer has to have 6-8 “touches” before you get a qualified lead. The conversion rate of your sales team is another factor to consider. Throwing money to post ads is no guarantee you will reach any of your goals. Ads get you an ear. Use that opportunity wisely. Prepare to succeed.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

PAY-PER-CLICK AND FAST FOOD

BRANDING: TIMING AND TRAINING TO BE AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS

INCREASE SITE VISITS WITH SALES

INTERVIEW WITH BILL SORENSON, CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF IVDESK

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE LEAD GENERATION