Could you ever picture an ideal scenario where you could advertise your business, your services or your products in a newspaper, on the television, or on the radio and only pay a small amount each time somebody actually read or listened to it? Well since the introduction of Google Adwords, also known as Pay-Per Click advertising, this is very much possible when it comes to advertising on the Google search engine or websites that allow advertising.
Now accounting for 97% of Google's Total Revenue, Adwords has generated an impressive $32.2 million dollars (over £18 Million in English currency) in advertising revenue alone as some of the retail, travel and price comparisons biggest hitters continue to invest in the service.
As a Web Development Agency, we always have to keep our fingers on the pulse when it comes to optimizing web performance, regardless of if you are a small business based in Cheshire or a national chain with a nationwide presence. With this topic coming up numerous times in the last few months, after engaging with clients, I thought I would provide a complete overview of Google Adwords for smaller and local businesses that are perhaps looking to increase their presence and sales on the internet.
An Introduction to Google Adwords
Google Adwords (also referred to as Pay-Per-Click) is an online advertising service developed by Google for businesses wanting to display advertising copy either at the top, bottom or the side of any specific search query. The choice and placement of any ‘Adword’ is determined on multiple search variables, which are calculated and displayed on the relevance of your search query matching the keywords displayed on the advertising copy. Along with the type of campaign selection chosen, any Google Adwords user can set a budget on their advertising and are only charged when users click on your ad.
Choosing the right campaign for your ad
Google Adwords offer 3 different types of campaigns, all of whom have their individual advantages to suit different needs, consisting of Search Network Only, Display Network Only and Search Network with Display Select (a combination of both networks) campaigns. Depending on which campaign is chosen, each determine where potential customers will be able to see your ad. Adwords also offer exclusive subtypes such as “Standard” or “All Features” which offer further options when designing your ad. Choosing a specific campaign also determines the reach of the places where your ad campaign can appear on Google sites, websites that show relevant Google ads, and various mobile apps that allow advertising.
Search Networking Only Campaign
This campaign is the perfect choice for smaller business that only want ads appearing next to Google Search Results that will only reach customers searching for your specific products or services. Only available in “Text Ad Format”, these adverts are matched to search results pages based on terms or phrases that a user searches for. Along with Google Search Results, you ad will also appear on other Google services such as Shopping, Maps, Images, Groups and other non-Google sites such AOL that partner with Google to show search ads.
Display Network Only Campaign
This type of campaign is for the more advanced Google Adword User who wants to extend their reach and start to build more awareness of their brand across a larger scale of audience, particularly customers who are browsing online for similar targeted keywords. The Display Network Only campaign has a lot more available formats to choose from including text, image, rich media and video ads. When your keywords are matched to related websites content, your advertisement will appear as similar based advertisement suggestions.
These types of ads can show throughout Google’s Display Network, made up of more than a million different possible placements including websites that show relevant Google Ads, Videos, Apps, Gmail, YouTube and much more.
Search Network with Display Select
Providing the both of best worlds, Google typically recommends this campaign for Adwords beginners. In this scenario, your daily budget will be shared across both Search & Display networks. The difference with this is that your ads are shown more exclusively on the Display Network to users who are browsing search engines and websites that are related to your keywords. This type of campaign would be recommended to users who wish to continue to advertise on Google Search but also branch out to customers on the web.
Available in text, image, rich media and video ads format, your ad campaign will display on relevant search results within the Search Network and will also appear on websites that show appropriate Google Ads along with videos, apps, Gmail, YouTube plus much more.
In the second part of our Introduction to Google Adwords Blog, we will cover how to select your daily budget along with 4 key facts that make Google Adwords successful for small to medium range businesses.