In PPC you choose to bid on keywords and key-phrases. This bidding is done in a marketplace against other business and website owners on the network. To have your advert appear in response to a Google user’s search normally requires that your bid is in the top three or four. This can look like an expensive proposition from the outset. The idea here is to carefully select your bid targets. Choose which keywords to bid for, and how much to set your bids at. Our analysis, using Gambit Nash’s bespoke tools, looks at which keywords offer the best value for money. Our tools offer the ability to analyse hundreds or even thousands of words and phrases, to cherry pick those that offer a great cost per click and are likely to convert to sales activity on the target website. This initial analysis is a task that uses our custom coded keyword tool. Hint. It’s normally best not to bid for most obvious, short, expensive key phrases. “Plumber in Birmingham” might seem the most obvious choice if you are a plumber in the West Midlands area. However, it is an expensive, rarely used phrase that attracts “window shopper” clicks rather than buying clicks. When choosing keywords It is important to think like a potential customer, not as a business owner.

Google offer a great number of options when setting up an Adwords campaign. As well as the choices made with the keyword analysis tools, you can choose from a wide array of advertising types. Text only, image, video. Each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Choosing to display on Google alone or take advantage of the Adsense partner network can alter a campaign results dramatically. The demographic and chronological targeting options all have a role to play. An effective campaign will target many groups of keywords, be specific about the cost, understand the intended audience and have and be laser focussed on achieving the best return on investment (ROI). Hint. The list of activities that should be done before a campaign starts involves comprehensive competition analysis, audience research and in most cases the implementation of results tracking to allow post launch optimisation. A good PPC campaign is never “set and forget”. The marketplace for bids is live and opportunities to improve occur regularly.

Perhaps the most distressing mistake a novice Adwords marketer can make is in the conversion of a website visitor into a buyer or client. The largest single factor here is the layout of the website itself and the journey a visitor needs to make between arriving on the site, and taking the “call to action”. Thought needs to be given to whatever the goal of your direct marketing efforts may be. It could be as simple as buying a product, or perhaps to sign up to be contacted. Whatever action the campaign is designed to achieve, the pathway between a paid visitor arriving on your site, and them completing the goal action of your campaign needs to be simple and obvious. There there are a number of site issues that can seriously detract from an otherwise well run direct marketing effort. The considerations need to include the page navigation, the explanation of the product or service, a clear call to action and the removal of any site elements that might detract or distract the visitor from talking the desired action, while ensuring the right elements are present to encourage the desired action. Google Adwords encourage users to place a tracking code on their website which shows the activity of a visitor sent via their network. Using this data it is possible to see where any shortcomings may be and improve the conversion of paid traffic, into real customers.