11 Killer Google Advertising Strategies for SME Business

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May 2009

Hundreds of thousands of advertisers are using Google Advertising (Google AdWords), but only a minority will truly thrive.

As an advertiser, you need every edge you can get

Here are my 11 killer Google Advertising strategies that clients often pay me $1000’s to hear and implement.

1. 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.

2. Keep your ad group keyword lists short
Instead of having a single ad group with a large list of keywords, (one of my customers complained to me about how Google just wasn’t working for him – when I looked at his advertising strategy, he had 1 ad group with 1500+ keywords). Create many ad groups, each with a short list. This will help you achieve tip #1.

3. Bid high initially
Google's ad system determines placement by a system called Quality Score x+ your Bid. Your Quality Score is determined by your CTR (click through rate) and the relevancy of your Ad Group and Landing Page. To earn a high CTR, obviously 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, you can safely lower your bids as your Quality Score will start to come into play.

4. Set your Campaign Setting to show your Ads ‘Accelerated’ not ‘Standard’
If you set your campaign settings to show your ad ‘standard’, 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.

5. Avoid bidding wars
Don't waste money getting into bidding wars for a handful of high volume keywords (short tail approach). Instead, expand your keyword list to include more specific keywords that have a lower search volume (long tail). Collectively, these keywords will reach the search volume of more expensive keywords. Your average CPC (cost per click) will fall dramatically using the long tail tactic. Use keyword research tools to expand your list of keyword phrases.

6. Set lower bids on exact matches
Include both phrase and exact matches for a keyword phrase. Set the bid lower 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 50 cents, you might set a 40 cents bid for the exact match: [keyword phrase]

7. 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

8. Use landing pages
Don’t point the ad to your home page. Choose a landing page on your site that includes the keywords from the search. I personally recommend you create a custom page that's not in the normal navigation of your site.

9. 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 realise that displaying ads on Google's content network is always turned on by default. Either turn off the content network or create separate campaigns for search and content ads.

10. Test multiple versions of your adverts. 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.

11. Track your results
Google's has a great reporting tool. Track which actual keyword phrases your ads are triggering. You'll need this to help build your list of negative keywords for each ad group.

David Caruso 1800 853 390