Posts Tagged ‘adwords’
Google Adword Optimization
3 Nov 2009
by Timothy Nolan
Google Adwords: Quick Glance
“Ah ha! I found you!” Like children playing hide-and-go-seek, individuals searching on Google want to be able to find what they are looking for right away. This usually means in organic search and search engine optimization (SEO) to be in the top three results. And everyone is gunning for that number one spot.
But when individuals are looking to make purchases or get information they need quickly, they tend to draw their eyes to the right side of the page on Google (in case you were wondering that is the “Sponsored Links” location). Interestingly enough, many top Google Adwords professionals will tell you that being the top or even the second link will harm your chances of conversion. Whether or not you believe it, you are actually able to save money and generate greater conversions.
How and why does that happen you ask? Well simply put, when people see the top sponsored links on Google, they tend to be of lower quality traffic – more reactive than educated. When it comes to some keywords, being between the third and fifth spots can save large amounts of capital in ad positioning. And this doesn’t include the fact that when someone does click your ad you will have a higher opportunity of converting.
Adwords to Organic
Getting back on the topic of organic SEO, keywords used in Google Adwords campaigns could definitely assist in the site side optimization (SSO). This is a great way to find out which words will bring the most relevance to your website.
Ranking Optimization
Here’s how to optimize Google Adwords rankings:
1. Keyword selection
2. Ad placement between 3 and 5
3. Landing Page optimization (SSO)
4. Test, test, test the ads and then test again
These are just a few simple tasks that can be used to optimize your Google Adwords Campaign. As far as that number one spot organically, well that is a discussion all its own – check back with me on that…
Google Adwords: The Conversion Comes First
20 Oct 2009
by Timothy Nolan
It may sound like a “Captain Obvious” statement, but when developing a Google Adwords campaign (or any online marketing strategy for that matter) it is essential to create goals and define conversions, for the following reasons:
1. Analytics: Meaning and Purpose
When looking at trends and analyzing data for an internal site or external client, the numbers mean nothing without context (a conversion rate). I have been looking through some of the campaigns for a major client. The numbers themselves seem to be moving in a positive direction, but without an identified end result I have no way of interpreting any of the trends.
2. Keyword Success
Perhaps you have been looking at your Adwords campaign thinking, “How can I ever increase these numbers?” It is much easier to analyze data that already exists. With goals, funnels, and conversion rates established, it is easy to tweak and test new ad groups against the current successful ones. By establishing goal conversions you can notice keyword success and decrease costs.
3. Visitors vs. Clients
Just as an established sales cycle helps companies close sales quicker, studying conversion rates is the key to quickly turning clicks into revenue streams. The conversion “ding” in your Analytics account will help to identify where that individual came from, what they looked at, and how they ended up converting. Now you can use that information to gain insights into what visitors are thinking.
Conversions Defined
Each one of these can be defined as a conversion:
- Download
- Purchase
- Sign-up/Subscribe
- View of a video(s)
- Click-thru
Don’t forget the landing page(s). A customized landing page and a prominent call to action makes it more likely visitors will follow your Reese’s Pieces (had to have an “E.T.” reference) to the end. But whatever the case may be, make sure that the goals are set on your end, and the path is illuminated on theirs.
