The share of the Google search engine in the Internet market continues to increase and has now already exceeded 40% (46% in September according to liveinternet). And this means that Google AdWords has long been the same source of traffic.
Google's high growth rates are associated with an increase in the share of mobile traffic (85% growth in the first quarter of 2017). And since most users have smartphones with the Android operating system, they use the Google search network by default.
Setting up Google AdWords is a must-have skill for those who deal with context. So, if you have yet set up advertising in AdWords, or have set it up, but are not sure that it works effectively, then this article is for you. You can use it for reverse property search as example.
Who is Google AdWords perfect for?
- Those who conduct business outside the USA. Moreover, this also applies to the countries of the former CIS, where the share of Google is higher.
- For those who want to get a large reach with an inexpensive price per click. Google's contextual media network includes millions of sites and mobile applications around the world. Yes, their quality is worse than that, but you can choose certain platforms, which YAD does not allow yet.
- Those whose target audience is up to 40 years old. They are the ones who use Google search and smartphones more often. And if potential clients are employed in the IT field, then Google AdWords will be the leading channel for attracting traffic.
- A business that wants to promote itself on YouTube. Since YouTube is one of Google's platforms, you can set up ads there right away in your Google AdWords account by linking it to your YouTube channel.
- For those who want to reduce the cost of customers who are attracted from contextual advertising. In many niches, Google AdWords shows a lower price per click.
Account structure
This is the first thing you need to pay attention to when you are going to run ads in AdWords. A spontaneous and ill-conceived structure of an advertising account will lead to the fact that you will not be able to fully manage advertising and spend a lot and inefficiently.
Several campaigns on the same topic, differing by number. It is not clear what the difference is between campaigns 1 and 2. And when we go inside, we will most likely see only one group of ads, and inside all the keywords in a row.
And everything that did not fit into one campaign was transferred to another, given number 2.
What is wrong?
When analyzing such campaigns, it will be very difficult to say exactly which ad texts are effective, which topics work better. And we won't be able to manage the campaign.
A clear account structure will allow you to spend less time and money on working with it.
It is most convenient if the structure of the account corresponds to the structure of the site or the theme of individual landing pages. In our case, the client has pages devoted to the repair of washing machines, refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves and coffee machines. So, on this basis, we allocate the next unit after the account - the advertising campaign.
Lot
It is easier to pick up key queries if there is a clear structure of the site and landing pages. We will continue to follow our pattern and select a few basic queries for each topic. For example, washing machine repair, washing machine master, washing machine service, as well as inquiries related to the brands that our client works with: bosh washing machine repair, ariston machine broke, etc.
Once we have our list of top queries for each topic of the upcoming advertising campaign, we can expand on them and collect a semantic core
Although we create advertising in Google AdWords. The convenience of the tool is that we can immediately see the frequency of requests, words that do not suit us (so-called negative words), as well as ideas for expanding the semantics.
We select the region in the upper right corner and enter our basic queries in the search bar. We receive a list of requests and partiality for the past month. To make it convenient to collect words, use the browser program, which can be downloaded for free from the Chrome online store.
When choosing words, don't go by quantity. Western specialists do not have an analogue of our wordstat, so they form a core based on their own ideas, competitor analysis services, for example, SimilarWeb and Google's built-in Keyword Planner tool. They don't have the ability to get a list of 10,000 keywords in a couple of clicks.
Brad Geddes, author of Google AdWords. A comprehensive guide”:
“Before you create and generate millions of keywords, think about what you intend to do with them. Most companies do not need them in such quantities. There is no "magic" number that would indicate the "necessary" number of keywords in an AdWords account.
Your account should have relevant keywords that help users find answers to their questions.”
The more requests you have in your account, the greater the chance that the statistics on all of them will not be analyzed and they will turn into dead weight. A good strategy is to take a little, gradually add more and evaluate the results.
It makes sense to refer to the Keyword Planner as well. It will allow you to match queries based on a basic list of keywords or a site domain. You can see traffic and bid forecasts.
Also options for keyword groups. It is possible to study grouping options from Google, but it is better to follow your structure, and not to form an advertising campaign only according to this plan.
We group requests
Let's go back to our account structure. The next unit after the advertising campaign is the ad group. It combines keywords and ads for them. In the example, we had one ad group with a hundred different keywords. For example, "repair of large household appliances" and "repair of small household appliances" are completely different works. And for all these words there was one announcement.
Therefore, we divide our array of keywords into groups and write ads that are as targeted as possible. The fewer words in a group, the more relevant the ad text will be.
There are several basic approaches in query grouping:
- There is only 1 keyword in the ad group.
- In a group from 2 to 10 similar keywords.
The first approach allows you to control the effectiveness of advertising requests in as much detail as possible. It is especially good in narrow topics with high competition. The second approach is quite acceptable for our example.
After we've broken down keywords into groups, we need to look at match types. If you do not pay attention to this setting, then a little later, during the operation of the campaign, we will find out that we spent the entire budget and were shown not only for requests "Bosch washing machine repair", but also, for example, "Bosch battery repair" or "where to buy a Bosch washing machine."
There they worked quite normally without any operators. And an inexperienced specialist does the same in Google AdWords. But here the algorithm is different, and Google changes both the order of words and the form, and also replaces them with similar ones. The degree of "similarity" is determined by yourself. Thus, in one of the campaigns, the request "buy a KIA car" turned into "selling a car for a penny"
At the first stage of launching an advertising campaign, a good solution would be to use the broad relevance modifier . It is necessary to put "+" in front of the required words. It is important for us that the ad is shown in response to the query "+repair+washing+machines+bosch". The order may be different, additional words are possible, but the highlighted + will not be replaced with similar ones.
You can use all match types in the same ad group at the same time and test the performance of each. Add words in phrasal correspondence (separated by quotation marks). Then the ad will appear only if there is a phrase in the query that matches exactly, in this order, or as close as possible to it. In this case, the word form can be changed. If you are looking for fast free people search, you can find more info at the our website.
And enable exact match queries (highlighted []). In this case, the ad will appear in the search bar only if your query is entered in the singular or plural.
For example, "washing machine repair" or "washing machine repair".
To speed up the process of adding different match types to your ad campaign, I recommend using this tool.
Broad match (without +) can be left if you work in a narrow topic, where it is not always clear what queries users can enter. Or you have enough budget and want to find new niches and keywords.
Minus the word
You remember that in the process of selecting keywords, we will not need all requests. In our case, queries like "do-it-yourself repair of washing machines" or "repair instructions" are unnecessary keywords. Because the user is clearly not going to contact a paid service, but wants to solve the problem himself. We collect such requests separately in order to add a list of minus words when setting up the campaign. Match types also apply to negative keywords.
If you add minus words at the campaign level, it is more convenient to make a general list.
Newbie accounts often have a generic list of inappropriate phrases found on the Internet added to them. What is bad about him? By not taking into account requests from your niche. Therefore, if you use it, be sure to supplement it with self-collected negative words.
Keep in mind that Google AdWords does not know the most languages. Therefore, it is necessary to minus the request in all word forms. I recommend using this tool to cancel negative words.
Another important point: in AdWords, unlike Direct, negative words have priority. If the negative word and the query match, impressions on it are blocked.
We are setting up an advertising campaign
The structure is clear and the keywords are selected and ready. It's time to start setting up your ads.
When creating a campaign, Google prompts you to choose a type. In the new interface it looks like this.
We're going to run search ads, so we're choosing this type. Previously, there was an option for a search-optimized campaign. Currently, Google does not offer it, but when configuring, you can remove or leave the "Contextual media network" checkmark.
This moment should not be missed. Maybe you're tired of the reminder to separate search and networks, but it's worth repeating. It is possible to combine these two formats, but you should not make such advertising basic. It is better to launch separate search campaigns, separately contextual media, and then create a combined one and test its capabilities.
The next thing to pay attention to when setting up a campaign is geotargeting. It can be selected by campaign type. But fine tuning is possible in the advanced settings.
Geotargeting
By default, Google offers to select people who are in the desired region or interested in it. For example, if you advertise an apartment for rent in Sochi, then the ad will be seen by everyone who is directly in Sochi and those who search for "apartment for rent in Sochi". And you won't have to adjust ads for other regions. It's convenient, don't you agree?
But if you provide services or sell goods only for residents of one specific region, then you do not need to show yourself to everyone who is interested in this region. So, you need to select the second item "People from target locations" and save your money.
Next comes the choice of language. We select the languages spoken by the users of the region you specified. If you advertise in Canada, you need to choose both English and French, as it is a bilingual country.
Assignment of rates
Google AdWords offers three main bid management options:
- manual cost-per-click setting;
- automatic strategies;
- cost per conversion optimizer.
In the first case, everything is completely under the control of the advertiser. You place test bids on keywords and then adjust them based on the results. This approach requires a lot of time and constant monitoring of advertising.
In the second case, you are handing over the bid management process to Google. At the start of the advertising campaign, I advise you to choose from two auto strategies:
- Maximum number of clicks. A strategy that allows you to get the largest number of clicks within a given budget.
- Maximum conversions. Allows you to get as many conversions as possible within the given budget.
Others can be used when the statistics accumulate.
The third option is a compromise solution. You choose manual management, and Google turns on the cost-per-conversion optimizer by default. Bids are set by the advertiser, but the system raises them if there is a possibility of a conversion. In practice, the tool can work unexpectedly and increase the bid where no conversions have occurred.
Therefore, when choosing automatic strategies or Google tools, even if you believe in artificial intelligence, you should regularly check what is happening in the advertising account. To choose the optimal strategy for yourself, you can test different options. To do this, use the "Experiment" function, and within the framework of one campaign, you can test two bid management strategies (manual and automatic) and evaluate which works better in your case.
Showing ads
Do not skip the next settings item, "Daily budget". Set the amount you are willing to spend every day. Then select a display method. By default, Google offers the even method . This is when the advertising tool stretches the budget for the whole day and shows the ad in the morning, a little in the afternoon, and there is still some left in the evening. Which is generally not bad, but only the lucky ones see your ads.
Accelerated delivery means that the ad will be seen by anyone who enters relevant keywords into the search bar. But if your daily budget is very small and the bids are high, then you will only show your ads in the morning, and then you will be dropped from the list of advertisers.
If you have a narrow niche and few requests, choose the first option with high rates. You will appear in the top positions during the day.
The second option is suitable for advertisers who want to be sure that their ads are constantly shown. But in this case, it is better to reduce the bets and not chase the first place in the distribution.
In the additional parameters, let's focus on the method of rotating ads. A little below, I will tell you more about what you need to consider when writing them. The main thing: there should be at least two ads per group. When creating a campaign, predicting which text will be effective is an unrealistic task. You need to test several options. And at the stage of setting up the campaign, choose the optimal way to rotate ads.
By default, Google will offer optimized ads — trying to show ads that are more likely to get clicks or conversions. In practice, it happens that in a group of two ads, only one has impressions, which was chosen by Google with its algorithm, and the second one was not even given a chance. Therefore, for full-fledged testing, it is better to choose a rotation without optimization. Previously, an even 90-day ad rotation was available, and then Google included click-through optimization. As of September 25th, Google has announced that there will be only two ad rotation options left.
- Optimization using Google machine learning technologies to display the most effective ads from the group.
- Alternate without a time limit — for even display of ads for an unlimited time.
When choosing the second option, you can evaluate the effectiveness of each ad after 200-300 impressions.
The ad display schedule can also be selected in additional settings. In our example, the home appliance repair service works every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It makes no sense for us to show up during non-working hours, because the request is urgent, and the potential client needs to immediately understand whether we will solve his problem or not. However, in some niches, users may make decisions in the evening, after work, or on weekends. Then it is better to leave non-working time for the company. But select it separately in the settings. Then adjust your bids downward at this time so that the exposure continues, but you don't spend a lot of money.
We are writing an announcement
Back to our grouped queries. In the new interface, Google will offer to add all ad groups first, and then write texts.
We have groups on our mind map, we enter them and immediately proceed to the texts.
What is important to consider when writing texts?
- Do not copy standard phrases from competitors' ads, such as "quality service", "low prices", etc.
- Highlight the key features of the approach in business and tell about them in simple words, as concretely as possible. For example, in the home appliance repair service, applications are processed immediately, and the master goes to the client on the day of the application. Therefore, we do not write "quick departure", but "the departure of the master on the day of the call".
- Create at least two ads. Write different UTP in the texts.
- Add calls to action. Want more calls? So write at the end of the text of the ad: Call! Would you like to make an appointment for a consultation? Sign up!
- Insert a keyword into the text of the ad (preferably the title). But at the same time, the text should be meaningful and readable. Tell us what makes you stand out, instead of repeating the request twice (three times!).
- Use all the Google extensions offered. Your ad will appear prominently in search results and give users more information to make a decision. In addition to the usual quick links and address, a good result is given by the extension "Price", which appeared recently. Users for whom the cost of your services is high will simply not switch to you, and you will avoid unnecessary clicks and budget expenses.
In the Details, describe the basic UTPs that you do not use in the text of the ad. In our example, it can be: Warranty 1 year, Diagnostics, New spare parts for free. "Structured descriptions" will help define your company's range of services or areas of operation, as in the example below.
And in the new user interface, there is a "Promotion" extension, where you can enter information about discounts or limited offers.
- Send ads to relevant pages. Even if, in your opinion, the most beautiful turned out to be the main one. In our example, we grouped requests into pages. So, refrigerator repair ads will go only to this page.
Tag all your ads with UTM tags. You can use Google's UTM Builder or other tools for this. UTM tags will help link advertising with third-party services (for example, call tracking) and analyze advertising results in analytics systems.
What settings to check when launching an advertising campaign
Your campaign has been collected. What can't you start without?
Analytics
Google Analytics must be displayed on the site where you send the advertisement.
- Make sure that Analytics receives data from the site. For example, go to the "Live" report and see how long a person is currently on the site.
- Check if the targets are configured. Ordering a product or sending a form can be a targeted action for you. Without goals, you will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising.
- Refer to your Analytics account with AdWords. Go to Analytics in Admin and add an AdWords account in Resource settings.
If you have installed a chat with a consultant on the site, then you must configure the transfer of data about successful dialogues and offline messages to the analytics system. Usually, the chat help has detailed instructions on how to set up goals in Google Analytics. They do not require intervention in the site code, and you can easily set up the transfer of conversions yourself.
Don't forget about call tracking with call tracking. Call tracking will allow you to trace the source of the call down to the keyword, which will greatly facilitate further work on improving the effectiveness of advertising and deciding on the allocation of the budget. As with chat, call information can be sent to analytics systems.
After linking Analytics and AdWords, go to the "Conversions" section in the accounting system, go to the Google Analytics tab and import the necessary conversions into the account. Now you can monitor the effectiveness of advertising and apply optimization tools and automatic strategies from Google without going to the analytics system.
If you don't want extra information, then import only the final target actions: call, request or message with contacts from chat. If you import less meaningful goals, like 2-page views or landing on a page, the account will be confused and it will be difficult to make the right decision about changing the campaign or budget.
Rate adjustments
If you know your potential customers well and how they make a purchase or order decision, be sure to use it. The AdWords tool - "bid correction" will help in this. You will be able to decrease or increase bids for users according to the following parameters:
- Demography
In the new Google interface, go inside the campaign and select the "Demographics" section in the side menu on the left. You can adjust the correction by age and gender or make a combination of these parameters.
- Geotargeting
If you know for sure that you buy better in one region, and worse in another, then you can immediately increase the bids for successful territories. However, if you are not sure, leave this setting until you have enough data to draw a conclusion.
- Show time
When setting the display time "earlier", you can exclude non-working hours separately. And reduce rates on it. And then evaluate the effectiveness. Or adjust bids for the weekend if you don't have a lot of sales during that time.
Later, when optimizing the campaign, you can raise the bids for the time when the application comes in the most.
- Devices
As I emphasized earlier, the share of mobile traffic is growing at a high rate. Therefore, one should be careful with this adjustment. Yes, in 70-80% of cases in my practice, conversions, as before, come from the desktop. Therefore, it is reasonable to reduce rates on mobile devices to 30-50%. But don't completely cut off mobile traffic: sometimes conversions from smartphones are much cheaper, although they happen less often. And in the example with the home appliance repair service, the share of mobile applications may well be higher than from a PC.
Conclusion
So, you can start. Top up your account (keep in mind that sometimes funds arrive 3 to 5 days after payment) and get started.
At the beginning of the work, the advertising campaign needs regular attention. Observe how the budget is spent, which requests are relevant, how users behave with Google AdWords on the site. Adjust bids and budgets based on observations. Read more about how to optimize Google ads so that they spend less and bring more conversions, read the following article.
