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AdWords Campaigns? Avoiding the Mistakes
By Adriana Iordan (c) 2007

15 Most Common Errors in an AdWords Campaign

There can be no good commerce without proper marketing.
Marketing campaigns are a must for businesses wishing to
boost their sales. Online marketing has become more and more a
distinctive and important aspect in the development and evolution
of any company, big or small, which aims at reaching a specific
range of potential customers.

With the emergence of Google's AdWords service, online marketing
has changed. It is now possible to target potential customers
more accurately than ever, taking into account that Web search
is the second most used online application after e-mail.

http://www.avangate.com/images/articles/google_resultsw.jpg

Google search results: Organic vs. Sponsored links (Google
results for "sell software online")

What is AdWords?

AdWords is Google's tool, meant to help you advertise your
business. It can be used to create simple, yet effective ads
that will be displayed to people performing online searches for
information related to businesses such as yours. Basically, a
Google AdWords campaign is one way of doing online keyword-based
advertising.

At the core of any pay-per-click campaign
(http://www.avangate.com/seo-services/ppc-management.php) lays
the commercial links (the ads) associated to keywords, displayed
on the right side of the result page when a Google search is
performed. What Google offers is actually placing certain Web
sites on top of all the results for a specific search
(i.e. keywords). Against a fee, naturally. These sites are
placed systematically on the right side of the result screen and
marked as "commercial links" so that the user is not mislead,
since Google's goal is, above all, to maintain the credibility
of its search engine.

The AdWords ads are very simple. They come in a variety of
formats, amongst which the most common are the text format and
the image format. There can also be animated ads, video ads,
mobile ads, etc. The text ads usually consist of:

   * An ad title (up to 25 characters, including spaces): must
     attract users that may have an interest in your products
     or services
   * Two description lines (up to 35 characters each, including
     spaces): should be clear and compelling enough to convince
     the user to visit your site
   * The display URL (up to 35 characters, including spaces):
     this is where the user will be directed when clicking on
     the ad.

15 Most Common Errors in an AdWords Campaign

Don't assume that this is an easy task. It's not. Remember that
Google is a tough nut to crack, but with the right set of tools
and a lot of hard work and dedication, it can be done. Therefore,
it is good that before creating a pay per click campaign, you
have a clearly established goal. According to this goal, begin
creating your AdWords campaign.

As with Search Engine Optimization, AdWords campaign management
is a must and must be done properly. There are many aspects that
can be overlooked. Some of the most common AdWords campaign
mistakes come from superficiality or insufficient knowledge
about the targeted market and the way the Web works.

Among the worst mistakes being made in such cases are:

  1. Bidding too much in order to be placed on the top position
     Even if this seems like the best choice, being "Number One"
     in this case is not necessarily the best. Keep in mind that
     Web users are accustomed to searching, and they usually
     don't stop at the first ad. And, since they are first
     prospecting the market, it is highly possible that you only
     get an unqualified click. It seems that being no. 3 in paid
     search is one of the best (i.e. profitable) positions.

  2. No geo-targeting
     Try to relate to the potential customers in your area
     first. They are more likely to take their business to a
     local company. Add, for example, the name of the town or of
     the area where your company is in your ad and the effects
     will be noticeable.

  3. Bidding on broad keywords
     Broad keywords are very likely to take your CPC
    (cost-per-click) to a very high level. Therefore, try to
     brush the keyword list that you wish to use for your PPC
     campaign and retain only highly searched-for keywords.
     Those are worth bidding for.

  4. Boring content
     Don't say what others have already said. Be creative. Be
     fresh.

  5. Non-relevant landing pages
     Make sure that when the Web user clicks on the URL in the
     ad, it will take him/her to a relevant page. You don't want
     the user to get frustrated by not finding the desired
     product/service advertised in the ad.

  6. Directing users only to the home page
     Unless you have a really cool Web site that captivates
     users and makes them browse through it for endless
     minutes, they will get frustrated if they have to search
     throughout the site for what they need. You should send
     them directly to where they will find what was advertised.

  7. No keywords in the ad text
     Do insert your keywords in the title and description of the
     ad. Nevertheless, remember to keep an eye on the clarity and
     relevance of the ad. Visitors must understand exactly what
     they will get when clicking on it.

  8. Not tracking the results
     You should monitor the keywords that you use in your Google
     AdWords marketing campaigns. The most at-hand tool is Google
     Analytics, built into the AdWords interface. You should be
     able to see and rule out the keywords that are not helping
     you get the desired ROI (return on investment).

  9. Same bids for the content network
     AdWords gives you the possibility to have two separate
     campaigns, one for the content network and the other for
     the search network. You should set different bids for the
     content network. Otherwise, the CPC will be much higher
     than anticipated.

  10. Suggesting that what you offer is free
      Don't try to lure visitors with false statements. All
      you'll get is irrelevant traffic and no conversion (or
      not significant enough).

  11. Not identifying the uniqueness of your product/service
      Identify what makes you and your product/service unique,
      what makes you stand out from the large crowd of
      competitors. Find the keyword(s) that supports this
      uniqueness.

  12. Failure to create multiple ad groups and ad campaigns
      Don't fall into that trap. Unorganized campaigns will fail
      to produce the expected results. Group all the single ads
      that target related keywords. If you're advertising more
      than one product/service, it's best to have the ads grouped
      by category.
      Also, don't use just one campaign. Split your ads into
      separate campaigns. You will be able to see which of them
      gives you more satisfaction in terms of conversion rate.

  13. Failure to test with more that one ad
      Don't limit your advertising campaign to just one ad. It
      may not contain the best keywords. Create more ads and see
      which one works best.

  14. Not using targeting options for keywords
      Broad matches may or may not improve your conversion rate.
      But if you use the keyword targeting options, you may
      notice significant improvements. The targeting options are
      the square brackets - [blue tulip] - and the quotation
      marks - "blue tulip".
      Also, you can use the negative character (minus sign) in
      order to specify certain keywords for which you don't want
      your ads to be shown: -tulip. This will also prevent you
      from paying for such words. A penny saved is a penny
      earned, they say.

  15. Not using company/brand name keywords
      Don't leave out the name of your company or of a brand
      you've created. You wouldn't want the competition to make
      profitable use of it, would you?

So, when you plan on creating an AdWords campaign, try to keep
an eye on the aspects mentioned above. There is too much at
stake to afford bad internet marketing campaigns
(http://www.avangate.com/ecommerce-services/).

What's In It For You?

To make it short (taking into account that your Google AdWords
campaign is a good one): an improved conversion rate. After all,
this is what you were aiming for. If you only take a look at the
possible AdWords campaign mistakes mentioned above, it is easy
to figure out the disastrous consequences of a poorly managed
advertising campaign.

Ultimately, it can put you out of business. On the other hand,
a well-directed and properly instrumented pay-per-click campaign
can go a long way. You gain notoriety and make a profit.

There are so many ways in which you can save money when creating
an AdWords campaign. If you manage to avoid the above-mentioned
mistakes, you will surely notice an increase in your sales or
amount of contracts for your services.
================================================================
Adriana Iordan is a Web Marketing Specialist at Avangate B.V.
(http://www.avangate.com). She has in depth knowledge of internet
marketing services and website analysis applied to the software
industry and e-commerce development. Avangate is an eCommerce
platform for electronic software distribution incorporating an
easy to use and secure online payment system plus additional
marketing and sales tools.
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