How to Cheat Google AdWords Select!
Part III by Derek Vaughan
In Part II of our series, we learned how to create copy that compels your prospects to click on your ad and land your prospects on a page that will maximize your investment. In this installment we'll learn how to:
- Precisely limit the distribution of your ad to only those prospects who are most interested;
- Beat the competition with creative bidding strategies.
Limiting Your Distribution - The Key to Success
If there is one component of AdWords that is most often neglected it is controlling the distribution of your ad impressions to only those prospects who are most targeted. According to the Google AdWords web site:
"Each account is evaluated after every 1,000 ad impressions are delivered on Google. If the CTR for your account falls below a minimum required CTR (which varies by ad position but is 0.5% for the top spot and slightly reduced for each subsequent position), we'll only show your ads occasionally on your underperforming keywords. (The status of each of your keywords will be clearly indicated in your keyword reports.)
If your keywords don't improve, we may disable them. You'll then need to refine your campaign to improve its performance and effectiveness. After editing your campaign, you may restore full ad delivery to your account."
In short, if your ads don't get a decent clickthrough rate (CTR) they will be disabled - you're ads won't be shown. Conversely, if you are getting a high clickthrough rate for a very general term, you will potentially be spending a HUGE amount of money. So how do you get your ads more targeted? Here's the secret - use the built-in tools that Google provides:
- Phrase Match
- Exact Match, and
- Negative Keywords.
Remember, the default setting for AdWords is called Broad Match. This will show your ad when any keyword from your search phrase is typed in any order. So if you are targeting 'Palm Pilot', under broad match your ad will be shown when someone searches for: airline pilot, auto-pilot, pilot light, palm reader, palm trees, etc., etc. None of these search terms are in the least bit targeted! Don't do this! Please!
Getting Your Ad Targeted
The first cut in narrowing your target is to use the 'Phrase Match' feature in AdWords. This limits your ad to those searches which include your search phrases in order. To activate the 'Phrase Match' feature you simply enclose your search terms in parentheses. For example: "Palm Pilot". Now only those terms that include both Palm and Pilot in that order will be shown your ad, such as: free palm pilot, palm pilot software, and palm pilot V.
This may be a good first step for some, but I have found that it is necessary to even further refine the distribution of my ads by using the 'Exact Match' feature. This is particularly useful for increasing the clickthrough rates of poorly performing ads. The 'Exact Match' feature will only display your ads when the exact search phrase is entered. The 'Exact Match' feature is activated by placing brackets " and " around your search term. In our example we would use "Palm Pilot". Now only the exact term 'Palm Pilot' will show our AdWords ad.
The third tool is 'Negative Keywords'. This feature simply excludes your ad from any keywords that you choose. If you are selling a product or service, you may want to use 'free' as a negative keyword – thus preventing your ad from displaying when the word 'free' is part of the search phrase. To enable negative keywords you simply place a minus sign - in front of your search term. In our example, say we wanted to exclude all searches for 'free palm pilot' and 'palm pilot software'. Our keyword list would include the following entries:
-free
-software
Use of these targeting features will instantly place you into an elite category of Google AdWords users who have a clickthrough rate and a conversion rate at the top of their categories. Now let's look at how to set your bid.
Creative Strategies for Successful Bidding
There are many different approaches to the process of bidding for position within AdWords. There is a $5.00 minimum deposit required to set up any AdWords account, but once set up any of the below listed bidding options are available.
The 'Always be #1 - No Matter What it Takes' Strategy
This strategy espouses the view that being number one is everything. It is true that the top listing gets the most traffic. In some cases the top listing can generate much more traffic than the lower listings, even the second listing. The top listing will also always be the most expensive spot for any given keyword or phrase. Depending on the popularity of the search term and the bid required to secure it, the top listing may become very very expensive to maintain. Also, as AdWords uses the clickthrough rate to weight your listing, it may simply be impossible at ANY bid price to sustain the number one position. Remember as well that Google currently has a $50 per click maximum bid limit. This strategy is also prone to bidding wars.
The 'Never Bid More Than the Minimum Bid' Strategy
This strategy focuses on cost containment. Given a vast assortment of search terms, it is likely that some will have top bids which are only at the minimum bid. These terms will most likely be less popular terms that don't generate significant amounts of clicks. This strategy assumes that even where the top bids are $1 or more, some visitors will read through the entire list of advertisements, and click on much lower bids. As of the writing of this article, Google AdWords bids can range from a low of 5 cents up to a high of $50.
The 'Position Yourself Next to a Weaker Competitor' Strategy
The heart of this strategy is to position your listing as high as possible, while looking critically at competitor's listings and offers. You then position yourself next to a competitor whose price is much higher than yours for the same item, or whose offering is in some other way uncompetitive with yours - thereby making your offering seem even more attractive. For example, if you are mentioning a sales price of $149 for a Palm V in your listing, and the listing direct above or below you mentions a price of $99 for a Palm V, your offer looks overpriced. However, if there is a listing that offers the Palm V at $199 - then positioning your listing directly above or below the $199 price can make your price of $149 look more attractive.
The 'Steady State' Strategy
This strategy is similar to the 'Never Bid More Than the Minimum Bid' strategy - but with a twist. You calculate the amount that you are willing to pay for each qualified customer that lands on your site, and always bid that exactly that amount. For example: let's say that you calculate that you are more than willing to spend $1.35 for each qualified customer landing on your site. You simply bid $1.35 on your best keywords - regardless of what others around you are bidding. This strategy is often employed by bidders who take a hands off approach to their bids. They simply want to set the account up once, and let it run on 'autopilot', without much (if any) maintenance.
Of course you can go into AdWords as frequently as you like and adjust your maximum bid to give the return on investment (ROI) that you require. Measuring and maximizing your ROI will be the topic of our forth and final installment.