-
Use keywords in ad text
Show the searcher that your ad is relevant. Google will display the search keywords in bold in your ad if they're present. This helps your ad stand out from the crowd. -
Keep ad group keyword list short
Instead of having a single ad group with a large list of keywords, create many ad groups, each with a short list. This will help you achieve tip #1. -
Bid high initially
Google's ad system determines placement by both bid and CTR (click through rate). To earn a high CTR, you first need to generate some clicks. Bid high initially so your ad is seen early in the search results. Once you have a high CTR, lower your bids. Read this article for more information on bidding strategies. -
Set daily budget higher than Google recommends
If you set your daily budget too low, your ad will be displayed intermittently. This is not what you want. You always want your ad to be shown when someone searches for your keywords. Control your ad spend through other means such as employing negative keywords, using exact matches, targeting by region and adjusting keyword bids. -
Avoid bidding wars
Don't waste money getting into bidding wars for a handful of high volume keywords. Instead, expand your keyword list to include more specific keywords that have a lower search volume. Collectively, these keywords will reach the search volume of more expensive keywords. Your average CPC (cost per click) will fall dramatically using this tactic. Use keyword research tools to expand your list of keyword phrases. -
Set higher bids on exact matches
Include both broad and exact matches for a keyword phrase. Set the bid higher for the exact match. This allows you to control the position of the ad for the exact search. For example, if your ad group bid is set to 10 cents, you might set a 25 cents bid for the exact match:
[keyword phrase] ** 0.25
keyword phrase
Read this article for more information on exact match bidding. -
Use negative keywords
Your ad will not be displayed if the search includes a negative keyword. Add more negative keywords at regular intervals. As your negative keyword list grows, your ad group's CTR will increase, saving you money and/or improving your ad's position. For example, if you sell products or services at a premium, include negative keywords like:
-free
-cheap
-discount
Read this article for more information on negative keywords. -
Use a relevant landing page
For most searches, don't point the ad to your home page. Choose a landing page on your site that includes the keywords from the search. In some cases, it's worth creating a custom page that's not in the normal navigation of your site. -
Separate search and content campaigns
Many people lose money using AdWords when their site is swamped with hits from content ads. Most people don't realize that displaying ads on Google's content network is turned on by default. Either turn off the content network or create separate campaigns for search and content ads. Read this article for more information on Google's content ads. -
Test multiple versions of ad
Take advantage of Google's feature allowing multiple ads to be created and rotated within a single ad group. Test different ad text and see which version works best, both from an ROI and CTR perspective. A better ad will lead to a higher CTR and lower bids for the same ad position. -
Track your results
Don't rely on Google's reporting tools. They're good, but you need more detail, particularly to see which actual keyword phrases your broad matches are triggering. You'll need this to help build your list of negative keywords for each ad group. Plus, click fraud is a problem and needs to be addressed. If you don't have tracking software in place
Friday, March 30, 2012
11 TIPS FOR GOOGLE ADWORDS SUCCESS
Saturday, March 3, 2012
20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches
For millions of people Google is an indispensable search tool that they use every day, in all facets of their lives. From work or school, research, to looking up movies and celebrities to news and gossip, Google is the go-to search engine.
But instead of just typing in a phrase and wading through page after page of results, there are a number of ways to make your searches more efficient.
Some of these are obvious ones, that you probably know about. But others are lesser-known, and others are known but not often used. Use this guide to learn more about, or be reminded of, some of the best ways to get exactly what you're looking for, and quickly.
- Either/or
Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator -- or use the "|" symbol (pipe symbol) to save you a keystroke. [dumb | little | man] - Quotes
If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes. ["dumb little man"] will only find that exact phrase. [dumb "little man"] will find pages that contain the word dumb and the exact phrase "little man". - Not
If you don't want a term or phrase, use the "-" symbol. [-dumb little man] will return pages that contain "little" and "man" but that don't contain "dumb". - Similar terms
Use the "~" symbol to return similar terms. [~dumb little man -dumb] will get you pages that contain "funny little man" and "stupid little man" but not "dumb little man". - Wildcard
The "*" symbol is a wildcard. This is useful if you're trying to find the lyrics to a song, but can't remember the exact lyrics. [can't * me love lyrics] will return the Beatles song you're looking for. It's also useful for finding stuff only in certain domains, such as
educational information: ["dumb little man" research *.edu]. - Advanced search
If you can't remember any of these operators, you can always use Google's advanced search. - Definitions
Use the "define:" operator to get a quick definition. [define:dumb] will give you a whole host of definitions from different sources, with links. - Calculator
One of the handiest uses of Google, type in a quick calculation in the search box and get an answer. It's faster than calling up your computer's calculator in most cases. Use the +, -, *, / symbols and parentheses to do a simple equation. - Numrange
This little-known feature searches for a range of numbers. For example, ["best books 2002..2007] will return lists of best books for each of the years from 2002 to 2007 (note the two periods between the two numbers). - Site-specific
Use the "site:" operator to search only within a certain website. [site:dumblittleman.com leo] will search for the term "leo" only within this blog. - Backlinks
The "link:" operator will find pages that link to a specific URL. You can use this not only for a main URL but even to a specific page. Not all links to an URL are listed, however. - Vertical search
Instead of searching for a term across all pages on the web, search within a specialized field. Google has a number of specific searches, allowing you to search within blogs, news, books, and much more:
- Movies
Use the "movie:" operator to search for a movie title along with either a zip code or U.S. city and state to get a list of movie theaters in the area and show times. - Music
The "music:" operator returns content related to music only. - Unit converter
Use Google for a quick conversion, from yards to meters for example, or different currency: [12 meters in yards] - Types of numbers
Google algorithms can recognize patterns in numbers you enter, so you can search for:- Telephone area codes
- Vehicle ID number (US only)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) equipment numbers (US only)
- UPC codes
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airplane registration number (US only)
- Patent numbers (US only)
- Even stock quotes (using the stock symbol) or a weather forecast regarding the next five days
- File types
If you just want to search for .PDF files, or Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets, for example, use the "filetype:" operator. - Location of term
By default, Google searches for your term throughout a web page. But if you just want it to search certain locations, you can use operators such as "inurl:", "intitle:", "intext:", and "inanchor:". Those search for a term only within the URL, the title,
the body text, and the anchor text (the text used to describe a link). - Cached pages
Looking for a version of a page the Google stores on its own servers? This can help with outdated or update pages. Use the "cached:" operator. - Answer to life, the universe, and everything
Search for that phrase, in lower case, and Google will give you the answer.
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