Should You Include Keywords In Your Ads?

A common technique to improve click-thru-rates is to include the keyword you're bidding on in your ads.

Click-thru-rates can increase for 2 reasons:

1.  The keyword in your ad bolds-up if the user searches it.  For instance, if the user types-in, "AdWords Marketing" and you have this word in your ad, it bolds-up.  Your ad stands-out.

2.  It can help improve the appearance of relevance.  If users see what they're looking for in your ads, then they are more likely to click-it.

As a result of this, many advertisers try to include their keywords in the ads.  Many may have it automatically appear in their headline using the code {KeyWord:Default Headline} (more on that here).

However, an important point is that including your keyword doesn't always equal higher click-thru-rates.

Here are some tips to use the technique more effectively:

• Put your keywords into tight ad groups.   Even with several different keywords in an Ad Group, it's hard to fit them into your ad.  If you have 1 keyword for each ad group, you can ensure your use of the keyword in your ad fits and makes sense.  You can include the entire keyword in your ad and not just part of it.

• Make sure your use of the keyword fits.   Don't just put the keyword in the ad just to see how many times you can include it.  Include it with the goal of making your ad relevant to the searcher.

• Look at top click-thru-rate ads for each keyword to see how they are using the keywords in the ad. Do they have the keyword in the headline?  In the AdText?  See how you can model what's proven and tested to work.  

• Finally, don't hesitate to test including your keyword in the ad versus another one that does not.  Let searchers tell you what they think is relevant.

Yahoo and MSN Joining Forces To Take On Google.

There's big news coming-out regarding Yahoo and MSN joining forces.  Up until now, Google has dominated with a majority of the search market.  Yahoo and MSN have trailed behind.

However, Microsoft has just announced here a 10-year partnership with Yahoo.   Essentially, Yahoo search results will now be powered by Microsoft.  In addition, "Self-serve advertising for both companies will be fulfilled by Microsoft’s AdCenter platform, and prices for all search ads will continue to be set by AdCenter’s automated auction process."

This news is important because alone each of these sites likely can't make a dent in Google.  But, together, they may be able to get their act together.  Microsoft's CEO Steve Balmer says, in the above press release, "This agreement gives us the scale and resources to create the future of search."

You can read more about this story at:

• http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32193887/ns/business-us_business/?GT1=43001 -- Discusses the back story.
• http://searchengineland.com/micro-hoo-details-qa-with-mehdi-schneider-23248 -- Q & A interview about deal.

Video Demo of AdText Generator 2.0

Our team is currently working furiously for tomorrow's launch of AdText Generator.  It launches at 3 P.M. Eastern.  In the meantime, you can check-out a short video demo to give you an idea of what to expect.  Remember, it's FREE to try for 14-days and you can cancel with 1-click inside your copy!  A true risk-free offer.

Check-it out now at:

>>> http://adtextgenerator.com/Preview/index.html 

Talk to you more soon!

Research Tips To Help Uncover Winning Keywords.

You can use keyword brainstorming tools to instantly get hundreds, even thousands of keywords.  And, with all of those options, it can take a while before you begin getting comfortable selecting winners.

To help you build your keywords list, here are some simple ways to research them and increase the chances that they'll make you money:

• Monitor what keywords your top competitors are bidding on and which ones they are not.  If you know a certain advertiser is likely making money and they are not bidding on a certain keyword, then this may be an indication of its profitability.  Examine it deeper.

• Look to see that there are competing ads for your keywords.  If a certain keyword does not have others (or just a few) bidding on it, then there is likely a reason.  Exceptions might be if the keyword is a misspelling or has a strong reason for an advertiser to miss-it.

• Consider the organic listings.  Look at the information Google gives you about how competitive the organic listings are for each keyword in the upper right corner:

    
This tells you that around 1 million pages contain "homemade soap."  Compare this number to your other keywords so you can quickly get an idea of the most competitive terms.

Similarly, look to see what types of pages Google puts in the organic results.  This tells you a lot about who is typing in the keyword as Google wants to give them what they want.

• Consider what the person typing in is thinking with each keyword.  For instance, you might get a lot of cheap clicks for the term "soap," but are those looking to buy your product or service really typing this in.  Or, do they get more specific and type-in terms like "Homemade soap."  

Finally, when you've selected your keywords, monitor your results.  Pay attention to the conversion rates each keyword produces for you and the click-thru-rates they generate in the short-term.  Low click-thru-rates might be because of your ad (something you can fix) or they could be because the keyword just isn't a good fit for you (it's not relevant).

Don't Forget Your Display URL

With only so much room in your ad, every part of it is important.  This includes your display URL.  After all, your display URL is made-up of words, which have meaning.

Let's look at an example.  If you go to Google and type in the phrase, "Buy Soap," the following advertisers appear:  "AmericanSoapCompany.com" and then "Drugstore.com."  

Simply by the domain names, you can imagine that the two sites carry two very different types of products.  One sells unique products and the other sells Dove or other brands you can find anywhere.  

The domain names alone allow the searcher to quickly identify what type of retailer each is.  

And this is important to consider.  When a searcher looks on Google, he or she is looking quickly.  The faster you can identify yourself as exactly what he or she wants, the better.

You might buy a domain name just to advertise on AdWords.  To do this, you can look at your top keywords and see where you might come-in.

For instance, if you were entering the soap market, then you likely are selling some type of special homemade soap.  You would then get a domain name that emphasizes why your soap is special.  Is it American made?  Does it have special ingredients?  Does it work better than another?  

In addition, you might consider including one of your top keywords in your domain name to make your ad appear more relevant.  For instance, if one of your top keywords was, "Organic Soap," then OrganicSoap.com would likely do pretty well for you.

If a good name is taken, you might try dashes, such as Organic-Soap.com or www-organicsoap.com.

In addition, you can also make your domain names more relevant to each keyword by putting the keyword either as a subdomain (organicsoap.yourdomain.com) or as a folder (yourdomain.com/organicsoap).

The Power of "Swiping."

The difference between a successful and unprofitable campaign is often small.  Many marketers may start their campaigns up intendending to generate a loss at first so they can uncover as much data as possible.  They realize they must to test to find-out what works best.

However, there's a shortcut you should also know about.  You don't have re-invent the wheel when it comes to setting-up your campaigns.  You can monitor what's already working.  Then, take the main ideas of why it works and use it in your campaign.

The concept is called, "Swiping."  You're not copying anybody else's work.  You simply model the core ideas.  You can add your own twist to what's already working.

There are three main areas where you can do this, which include:

• PPC ads.  Look for certain phrases or appeals that work well.  Often a certain phrase will pull extremely well because it is exactly what a searcher on a certain keyword is looking for.  Searchers see it and immediately identify your site as what they're looking for.  You can also pay attention to formatting tricks a certain successful advertiser uses.

• Landing pages. The biggest idea to look at here is what appeal are they using in their copy.  What problems or desires does it address?  Additionally, what makes their offer stand-out?  Why would someone buy from them over a competitor?

• Ad placements.  You want to see what keywords competitors bid on and which ones they stay off of.  Similarly, you want to see if they are bidding on sites.  Look through Google on both the paid landing pages and free organic sites to see who's bidding on what.

The key takeaway is you can take what's working and just be a little bit better.  You offer something that others don't.  This allows you to roll your campaign-out starting at the top rather than at the bottom and working your way up.

How AdText Generator Was Born.

Unlike a lot of AdWords tools, AdText Generator wasn't only just created to make a quick buck... where developers create tools they don't even use themselves.

But, the need for it came about over eight years ago.

You see, before I became an AdWords management expert, I worked at a large industrial print publication company in Michigan.  My job was to set-up appointments for outside sales reps and create analytics reports for clients.

Then, one day, I was browsing online and came across an ad.  It talked about how you can make easy part-time income by placing ads for products on Google (the technique often called, "Google Cash").  It was BRILLIANT!  

I then proposed the idea of managing AdWords campaigns for clients to the president of my division.  He loved the idea and we decided the run with it.   There was only one big problem... nobody in the company had a clue about how to do it.

Seeing as it was my idea, I volunteered to learn everything I could in two weeks before taking over the program.  Long story short, it was a phenomenal success.  Clients bought the service.  Their sales rocketed.

Of course, success often comes with a price.  I was stuck working 12-15 hour days without any increase in pay.  I had to take my work home.  It was exhausting balancing work with home life!

I then tried to renegotiate my salary.  Unfortunately, they had all of my process maps and I ended-up moving-on.

From there, I had a number of other ventures.  But, eventually I would focus on what I did best, managing AdWords campaigns.  But, the problem still remained... what to do about how much time it consumed?

I immediately developed a tool that's now known as "AdText Generator."  It solved my biggest problem, creating killer high-click-thru-rate ads fast.  It does this by putting unlimited high-click-thru-rate ads at your finger tips in minutes or seconds.  Then, structuring your campaign the right way in tight ad groups.  

The difference is managing AdWords became fun rather than a major time and energy drain.  I then used it in private to rake-in clients a fortune. 

In fact, my account structure was so sound that Google themselves gave me a call based on reviewing my MCC account (where I manage my clients) and offered me a unique partnership.

Then I got THINKING - Maybe the rest of the world can benefit from Adtext Generator. Maybe AdtextGenerator can be a powerful tool for NEW adwords advertisers and experienced Adwords Advertisers. So I got working again with my developers. In November, we launched version 1.0 very HUSH HUSH. We quickly sold hundreds of copies within months.

From the feedback we have gotten, the new and improved Adtext Generator version 2.0 was built and is about to be released.

The other day I did a short telephone interview with a friend and client, Huey Lee.  Inside, we discussed:

• How was AdText Generator created?

• How does it work?

• What are the main advantages of it?

• How does it compare to other tools?

• How many ad groups and ads should you have?

• Why are click-thru-rates so important?

• And much more. 

It's only around 20 minutes long and offers some great tips, as well, as answers common questions about AdText Generator 2.0 and how it helps you. 

Just click "Play" below.

Remember, AdText Generator 2.0 is released July 21st to the public and is 100% FREE to try for 14 days.

The History Of PPC.

If you're just getting started with AdWords, then you likely don't know the history of it.  How did it get to be so popular?

You see, the first successful pay-per-click search engine was called, "GoTo.com."  It was a novel concept that instead of free rankings, you charged for them.  Moreover, instead of paying for an ad ahead of time, you only pay for results (the amount of clicks you received).

It was relatively low-risk for advertisers.

It caught on and eventually changed over to Overture.com where it become the dominant player in PPC.  Hundreds of other pay-per-click search engines arose, but none really rivaled Overture (though there were a few decent sized ones).

At this time, pay-per-click was very simple.  Whoever paid the most, got the top rankings.

This then led Google to develop AdWords.  However, they made 4 big changes from Overture's model:

1.  No longer did the highest bidder always win, but click-thru-rates or how often somebody clicked on ad was a major consideration.  Thus, the advertiser now had an incentive to optimize their listings and make them relevant to searchers.

2.  Google removed the bureaucracy and let ads show on Google.com before they were reviewed.    Only those on partner sites would need to be reviewed. Overture's editors would take 3-5 days before your ads could start showing.  Then, they would often reject a lot of the keywords you wanted to bid on.  Needless to say, they weren't always accurate and there isn't always a pressing desire to optimize when you don't get immediate gratification.

3.  They lowered the upfront cost barrier to only $5.  Overture was not expensive either, but Google could now make the claim, "Get started for only $5 and have your ads showing in 5 minutes."  This is a compelling argument to advertisers to get them to try it.

4.  They showed small text ads alongside the organic search results.  They realized that paid ads offer a lot of value to searchers and they compliment the free listings.  For example, if you're looking to buy, you may want more information from non-advertisers and then buy from a reputable advertiser.

Today, Google has continued to innovate.  They have a larger emphasis on not just the quality of ads, but landing pages as well.  Overture eventually got bought-out by Yahoo, which along with MSN, have slowly swiped ideas from Google.

Google now makes most of its revenue from its AdWords program.  They also went on to develop Google AdSense, which was a major step forward in how the web is monetized.

Publishers now had access to a huge network of advertisers they could get showing on their sites even if they're just getting started and have 100 visitors a month.  In other words, publishers now had a way to make money quickly from giving away information for free.

A good example of its impact is to take a look at YouTube.com or MySpace.com.  They both help make some revenue (though it might not be enough) through showing Google ads.  They don't have to recruit targeted advertisers for all of the pages.

Many sites that would otherwise have to charge money are now able to operate free.

Virtually every market now has loads of sites that show Google ads (which you advertise on via the content network inside your AdWords account).

With all of this said, in the future, it will be interesting to monitor the following:

• How will Google rank ads?  What factors will it consider when deciding how much you pay and where you rank?
• Will Yahoo or MSN get their act together and be real competitor?  Currently, Microsoft's new Bing search engine seems to be performing well.
• What other new mediums will be next to show ads?  Mobile phone ads seem to have the most potential at this time.

By looking at the history of PPC, it helps shed light on where it is likely to go and where you need to focus your attention as a result.

Overcome The Two Biggest Content Network Obstacles.

The content network can be far more profitable than many advertisers realize.  It reaches virtually every market and many of the most popular sites on the net.

However, there are two big reasons why most advertisers don't get as much as they should from the AdWords content network.

The first is that they struggle to find good sites to place their ads on.  Google does provide tools to help you.  However, they still take work to use.  You input your keywords inside and often what pops-up aren't what you were looking for.

You've got to dig deep to come-up with all of the best sites.

This then leads advertisers to skip over placement campaigns (where you choose the sites) and only create content campaigns (where Google selects them for you).  

And, as you may imagine, Google always isn't the best judge.  Your ads may get placed on junk sites designed to get visitors to click on ads that make them money rather than stay and use their site.  Or, your ads get placed on sites that just aren't very targeted.

So, what can you do?

A great way to find sites to place your ads is to use the search engines.  Look on the first or second pages of Google, Yahoo, and MSN and click on those listings.  See if they allow you to place ads.  If they're ranked high in the search engines for your keywords, then you know their traffic is targeted.  

Now, the second obstacle to profiting from the content network is you may not have competitive ads.

There may only be a few spots on a page for ads to go.  It may be far more competitive than advertising on the search network.  You need ads with high click-thru-rates if you don't want to break the bank.

You can do this by spying on what's already working.  The ads that work in the search network aren't always the most effective in the content network.  But, they can still give you ideas.  You can also look at what ads are getting shown on top content sites.

In addition, it's important that you take full advantage of image ads.  Many advertisers may not create all 7 ad formats... or take the initiative to split test them just like with text ads.  But, when you do, you can make big gains.

In order to test image ads, you may hire a designer to create a couple of sets for you and then you can request the photoshop files and change the text on the ads as you go on.

Easy Free Ranking Shortcuts

In addition to your paid ads, it's also important you don't overlook opportunities to grab easy free rankings.  They are a great compliment to paid ads because if visitors see you throughout the results, this makes an impact.  You get an edge the competition doesn't have.

How can you get quick and easy free rankings?

Simply head over to Google and Bing.com and type in your keywords.  Then, go through the top 20 results looking for the following types of sites:

• Directories -- Often directories where you can submit a free listing get ranked highly.  This is especially true with local businesses.  

• Blogs -- If there's a post for a blog, see if it allows comments.  You can then make a quality post and get a link back to your website.

• Videos -- For certain terms, videos in sites like YouTube rank very highly.  You can then comment under them.  Or, better, would be to create a "Reply" or "Related" video that gets shown prominently for after the top ranked video is played.  You want to make sure your video is optimized for the term you're going after.  

• Social bookmarking.  Often postings on sites like Digg.com rank very highly.  If so, look to submit your own content for that term to that high-ranking social bookmarking site.

Simply put, you're looking for other sites where you can post comments or existing content and get a link back to your website.

If you just stick to your most important keywords, this effort can be very quick and easy.