Checklist Before Launching New AdWords Campaigns

You may know a lot of the tips and tricks to build your campaigns the right way, but still not follow through.  So, in this post, we've put together a quick checklist you can check-off before you let your campaigns go forth.

Let's dig:

Keywords

  I have attempted eliminating keywords that lack few or no other ads bidding on them.

  I have considered eliminating keywords if no similar advertisers that serve my target customers are bidding on them.

  I know which keywords are likely the most targeted and are my priority to optimize for.

  I have added negative keywords to make sure my ads don't show-up for unrelated searches.

Structure

 I have separated my campaigns into tight ad groups (preferably 1 for each keyword).

 I have at least two campaigns, one for search and one for the content network.

 I have created at least two ads for each ad group to split test.  

 My campaigns and ad groups have descriptive names for easy future optimization.

Ads

 I have customized each ad to the keywords it's associated with (each searcher should be able to quickly identify your ad as what he or she was looking for).

 I have researched my top competition's ads to see what's working and if I can use successful ideas to get my campaigns off to a fast start.

 Under "Campaign Settings," I have set my ads to rotate evenly for split testing purposes.

 I have considered including the keyword in the ads associated with it.

 My ad is not going to be lost in the mix for important keywords (what's unique about me is clear to searchers).

Landing Pages

 Before my campaign starts, I have checked to make sure my landing page has a high quality score and that there are no usability or design issues. 

 My landing page has one clear main goal and the visitor is not easily distracted from it.

 For higher quality scores, my landing page is customized to the keywords in each ad group.

 I have strongly considered collecting contact information and implementing an effective follow-up sequence.

 I have considered highlighting my message with video or audio.

Content Network

  I have considered using placement targeting to get more precise on the sites I want my ads to appear on.

  I have created all eight sizes of images ads to get prized positions on profitable sites others overlook.

  I have effective ad copy on my image ads to generate high clickthrough-rates.

Accountability

  I have installed the conversion code so I can track progress and how each keyword performs.

  I have installed Google Analytics or a similar analytics tool to get detailed information on how my landing pages are performing.

  I have considered installing Google Website Optimizer or a similar testing tool so that I can continue to optimize my landing pages.

  My daily ad budget and costs-per-click are based on how much each customer is worth and what I can afford to spend.

  I plan on checking key reports about how my campaigns are progressing.

Quick and Simple Conversion Boosters.

When it comes to optimizing our landing pages, we all want the quick fix -- that little change that only takes a few minutes to implement and works magic.  

Unfortunately, this focus on the little details distracts from the big picture.  Before you begin worrying about the little details of boosting your landing page's response, it's important to take care of the big stuff, such as your offer, how you're unique from the rest, and so on.

These ingredients must be right.  Little details don't usually have to be perfect to make money.

However, the little details are important too.  They may not matter much alone.  But, added-up together, they make a big difference.

So, what are some quick improvements?

Keep in mind that there are no silver bullets.  Nothing guarantees your response goes-up.  It depends on your product, market, and how you implement them.  However, there are a few tips and tricks that more often than not help.  They're a good starting point before you get around to testing them.

Let's go through them below:

• Adding seals to communicate credibility.  For example, you might add a secure order shopping cart seal to your landing page.  At a glance, customers are reassured their credit card info won't be stolen.  Other examples include, adding an "As seen on" or "As featured in" seal if you've been in the media or posting a seal of an award you have one for either your product or customer support.

• Engaging senses of sound and sight.  You can do this by adding video or audio clips to your landing page.  You might use these tools to highlight your entire offer or just use it for testimonials or your guarantee.  A key point about using additional media is that you shouldn't just use it because you can.  It's job is to add to your landing page.  What you say is much more important than how you deliver it.

• Use plenty of white space between text and table borders.  This is a simple formatting trick to make your text easier to read and invite the eye toward it.  Remember, your goal should be to stop targeted browsers and get them to devour your message.

• Make images earn their space.  Each should have a purpose and it should add to your overall message.  Stock photos that look good, but aren't there for any other reason should be avoided. 

• Use graphics to draw the eye toward text and get it read.  If your have important copy, then graphics are a great way to highlight it for those scanning your landing page.

•  Simplify choices.  Avoid having too many options that can delay a buying decision.  You don't want your visitors to have to stop and think.  The decision to take action should feel natural.  The decision process should be as smooth as any other everyday purchase, such as buying groceries or gas.

Alright, we've covered a number of key tips you can implement right away without a lot of thought.  To get started, make sure you do it scientifically by setting-up a split or multivariate testing with Google Website Optimizer or another tool.  You want to make sure your changes really do boost response.

Two Essentials To Boosting Your Email List Subscriptions

We've covered the importance of building an email list to get more from AdWords starting here.  An email list allows you to not just follow-up with customers, but stay-in touch with the vast majority who don't buy right away.

Over time, your conversion rates rocket with effective follow-up.  Moreover, you have an instant contact list you can turn to for the launch of new products and services.

Of course, there's catch.  You need to get your visitors to give-up their contact information and join in the first place.

This can be a challenge.  After all, they've likely had experience with a business who has abused their address in the past... and they may feel like they just don't have the time to read anything else even if they do trust you.

In other words, simply telling them to join to get "updates" or your monthly newsletter just doesn't cut it.  Sure, you may get a few subscribers here and there.  But, it's nothing compared to what you could have.

Just imagine what would happen to your bottom-line if you could get just 20% (a relatively low number) of your visitors on your list?

If you only received 100 visitors a day, then that's 20 people joining your list.  At this rate, it only takes around 2 months to build a respectable size list of over 1,000.

So, how can you get your numbers at least this high?  Well, it's more than achievable simply by offering value in exchange for names and email address.

There are two key ingredients you can use to boost your opt-in or lead generation rates:

1. "Sell" your visitors on the value they get by joining your email list or newsletter.  Do you give "inside" access, offer money saving tips, offer special offers, or give other valuable information they can't get elsewhere?  You need to sell the opt-in just like you would any other offer.  Free still has a cost, time.  Your visitors should know why they should invest their time in you. 
2. Offer a valuable free report, video, audio, or other content.   It may only take an hour or two to put together a short report with tips related to your product or service.  For instance, "The Top 10 Keys To Making More From AdWords" or "The 10 Biggest Mistakes Made When Hiring A Photographer" (which you also happen to solve).  With this type of report, you just list off each key and then add to it.  You don't need to be a world-class expert or writer to do this fast.

Even better than short reports, are those that are more thoroughly researched and tell a story (or argument).  For instance, let's say you're a real-estate agent.  You might create a "Manifesto" on what's wrong with the real-estate industry and how you do things differently.  Another idea might be that you sell a health supplement and you write a "Tell-all" about why most are worthless...even dangerous and why you're different.

Do you see the power in this?  In addition to boosting your sign-up rates, this free content does 3 things:  Educates your prospects on the need for your paid products and services, builds relationships, and establishes you as the expert.  

The key is your freebie should offer real value -- maybe even something you would have otherwise sold or used to sell.  Other quick ways to get it done are to do an interview with either yourself or another expert, record a presentation, or offer a simple service, such as consulting.

Advanced AdWords Landing Page Conversion Tactics

Getting high clickthrough-rates on your ads is important.  It's key to beating-out the competition and lowering your costs-per-click.  However, this focus often misses a far more important number, your conversion rates.

Clickthrough-rates are a measure of how much attention you're capturing.  Whereas, conversion rates are a measure of how many new customers you're gaining.  It's your ultimate goal.

This is important to consider because you can have high clickthrough-rates and fall way short on sales.

So, how can you optimize your conversion rates?  Well, we've already covered in depth "conversion killers" starting here.

Let's continue this topic with 3 more advanced tips to boosting conversion rates:

1.  Set the right expectations for when searchers hit your landing page.  You might get high clickthrough-rates with misleading ads.  But, when the searcher hits your landing page, it backfires by damaging your credibility and likely your response rates. 

Instead, set your visitors up with exactly what to expect.  If you have a high-end product, don't hide this fact.  You might go so far as to advertise your price in your ads.  This may weed-out those who are not serious. 

In addition, another tactic is to use an ad that contains much of your landing page language.  For instance, your ad may say, "Simple tactic rockets your adwords response" and then your landing page would talk about this tactic immediately.  Your landing page headline might be, "Discover the simple tactic that rockets your adwords response."  It wouldn't be buried deep into your website.

2.  Qualify.  Instead of trying to be everything to everybody... be everything to those likely to buy. For instance, if your service is not for everybody, then specifically say so.  You're saving both their time and yours.  Moreover, you're also telling the people right for your product that what you have to offer is worth their time. 

3.  Stand-out with a no-brainer offer.  What is a "No-brainer" offer?  It's where the value scale is tipped in favor of the customer.  

You see, most transactions are fairly even.  No matter where you go, a certain candy bar is going to cost you around $1.  You give the money and get the bar in exchange.  It's what you've come to expect.  It's perceived as fair, but nothing that grabs your attention.

However, what happens if you could get 2 candy bars for $1.  This is certainly a much better offer.  The seller still may gain a profit and he or she gets more sales than before.  In the end, the seller may gain more profit from selling more and customers gain by getting more.

You can do the same with your products or services.  You might enhance your offer with discounts for larger orders, higher quality for less, a strong guarantee where you take away the risk, a risk-free trial, bonuses, and so on. 

The offer is likely the biggest variable you can control to improve your conversion rates.  You can be the same as everyone else... or you can make your product or service irresistible with the right offer.

The 4 Stages of AdWords Advertisers

There's a lot more to AdWords than first meets the eye.  Some advertisers progress and understand it's power.  Others get stuck and never turn a profit.

Let's take a look at the different stages advertisers go through from when they first get started to if they become more advanced:

Stage # 1: Just setting-it and forgetting-it.

When you first hear about AdWords, it sounds like a piece of cake.  You just input your ads, your keywords, and you're good to go.

You pay little attention to your results.  After all, why wouldn't anyone be interested in your ads?

That is, until you're woken-up by tons of clicks with little or nothing to show for it... just a massive bill you weren't expecting.

Unfortunately, many advertisers stop in this stage.  They either continue to spend without any accountability or they give-up for good.

Others, however, progress to...

Stage # 2:  Starting to seek-out expertise.  

This might mean hiring an expert to do it for you or reading free information here and there.

Moving to this stage is great.  However, too often the expertise you find isn't really coming from an expert.

It may be from Google itself who often fails to give specifics or it's from a manager who is more interested in taking your money than getting you results.

As a result, you still fail to get the results you hoped.  Though, you may make substantial improvements over stage one.  At least, you're getting some type of ROI... even if you're still in the red.

Stage # 3:  Investing in quality information or tools.

Finally, you begin to look for true experts.  Profit-draining leaks that once seemed insignificant now cause you alarm.  You see all of the profits you're missing-out on.

You are no longer satisfied by rehashed garbage information or managers who don't know their stuff.  You become focused on becoming a force to be reckoned with in your AdWords market.

From here, you soon enter...

Stage # 4: Putting knowledge into action and testing aggressively.  

In this stage, you don't just look at optimizing AdWords, but all of your marketing.  You're not afraid to fail in order to find-out what works.  You test your landing page, your offer, and everything you can think of to get more from your traffic.

As a result, you quickly rise to the top of market and crush the competition.

Ideas To Test In Your AdWords Ads

If you want improve your campaigns performance, it's important you split test your ads.  This means running at least two ads at once.

You want to run more than one ad for two reasons:

1.  It takes into account changes in traffic quality.  If you only have one ad running at a time, then you have no idea if another ad did better or worse because of changes in traffic quality.  One reason quality may vary is because a certain keyword drives more of your traffic than before.  There also might be seasonal changes.

2.  It takes time for editors to approve ads and for Google to gain trust in an ad.  If you delete your only ad, then you may wait days for your ads to run on the search or content network.

Of course, you may already be familiar with split testing.  But, you don't do it as much as you should because you're not sure what you should test.

This is why in this post, we'll give you some quick ideas to test in your ads:

• Formatting.  A common formatting test is upper versus lower-case first letters of each word.

• Short versus long ads.  You might use all of the ad space and run it against an ad that only has two to five words in the ad description. 

• Different action verbs.  You might test, "Rocket your results" versus "Explode your results."

• Location information.  You might say, "Covering New York City" or let searchers know specifically in your ad that you serve their area.  

• Shipping information.  You might emphasize that your shipping is fast, free, or low-cost. 

• Pricing information.  You might test including the price of your product in your ad, even in your headline.  Two reasons for testing this might be to qualify searchers.  Those that click on your ad know it's a paid service.  You may help eliminate those who can't afford it.  You also might want to do this because your price is much cheaper than competitors.

• Including keywords in your ads.    You might experiment with the amount of times you include the keyword in your ad.  For instance, you might have it just once or three times.

• Punctuation.   You might test with and without commas or periods.

• Adjectives.  There are times when it's important to describe what you're offering and how it differs from the rest.  Test different ways to describe your product or service.  For instance, you may have a web hosting service and you call it "Cheap web hosting."  You might test that against "Bargain web hosting."  

• Display URLs.   You might test "YourDomain.com versus "www.YourDomain.com" or you might test "YourDomain.com" versus "YourDomain.com/Keword"

• Questions versus statements.  For instance, you might test "Are you fed-up with dieting?" versus "Kiss Diets Good-Bye Forever."

• Features versus benefits.  You might advertise a web hosting service by saying, "50 GB storage, 5 GB bandwidth, only $5 a month," which tells all of the features of your service.  Or, you might advertise it by saying, "Save hundreds a year with everything you need for only $5 a month."  In this example, you emphasize that the consumer saves money, which is a benefit.

A great place to start testing might be with headlines, as this is the largest and top part of your ad.  Another strategy is to see how you can tie-in your ad with your landing page.  For instance, you may offer a free trial on your landing page.  So, your ad would emphasize this fact.  Guide the expectations of searchers at the beginning.

AdWords Bidding Strategies

Whenever you start a new campaign, a big question you might wonder is how much you should pay per click.  

If you bid too low, then you don't get enough traffic.  And, if you bid too aggressively, then you might not get a high enough ROI.

The answer to what you should bid is it depends on your product and goals.

Here are some different sample scenarios:

*  You're just doing some testing.  In this case, you may want to test your offer and you're just using AdWords to drive quick traffic.  If this is the case, then you don't care as much about ROI.  But, what you do care about is getting the most targeted traffic.  As a result, you may bid agressively on your top keywords and possibly ignore less targeted ones.

*  The money is in the backend.  If you have a cheap front-end offer, then your goal might be to get as much traffic as possible coming-in the door.  If this is the case, then you may be willing to take a loss on the front-end product or service by bidding aggressively on a wide-range of keywords.

* Your main profit generator is the product being offered.  If this is the case, then you may limit the number of keywords you're bidding on and focus on optimizing them.

To be precise about how much you should bid, then you must know your conversion rates.  What percentage of traffic turns into buyers?  Get a basic idea of this by setting-up Google Analytics and using their "Goals" feature.  This gives you a ball-park of how much you can afford to spend.

As you go along, make sure Google conversion tracking is installed.  Then, adjust your bid prices based on the data that comes-in.  You can afford to bid more and drive more traffic from those keywords that perform the best.

Simply put, it's a numbers game.  The more you bid, the more traffic you get.  However, increased traffic isn't always quality.  Don't be afraid to test which keywords make you money and which ones don't.  You should also consider increasing your content network bids before bids on certain untargeted keywords.

How Much Copy Should You Use In Your Landing Page?

A common question about creating a high-converting landing page is in regards to how much copy you should use.  

To answer this question, first consider what your prospects are thinking when they hit your landing page and start from there.  How much do you need to say?  You can then follow the AIDA formula we discussed in-depth over here to guide your prospects. 

You first capture attention, build interest, grow desire, and call for action. 

An example of where you might only need 1-word of copy is if you're looking to buy toothpaste at the grocery store.  It's possible that the desire for a certain brand is already there.  You were pre-sold when you hit the toothpaste aisle.  One word (the product's name) might be enough.

Online, sometimes the prospect will come "Pre-sold" to a landing page and all you need might be an order button.

However, imagine you sell your own brand of toothpaste. You advertise it on the term in Google, "Buy Organic Toothpaste."

Visitors then click on to your website.  Their mindset is a lot different than those shopping in the grocery isle.  They're far from "Pre-sold."  They may have a lot of questions, such as:

• Why do I need your product?
• Why should I wait for it to be shipped rather than buying in a store?
• Why should I pay more for your product? 
• Is it still effective (I don't trust natural products)?
• And so on. 

Even for this very simple product, people already know they need, there's a lot more that can be said to boost conversion rates.  One-word doesn't cut-it.

Now, just imagine if you're selling a complicated product people may not even know they have need for, such as software to get better results on AdWords or an AdWords management service.  A lot more copy is needed.

The customer wonders whether, "It's just another tool?," "Is it worth the investment," "Do I really need it to get results?" and so on.

Simply put, don't be afraid of using long copy... only long-winded copy.  Aim to say what needs to be said to move to the next step and nothing more.  When in doubt, you can test-it with Google website optimizer.

Overcoming The Laziness Factor

There are two routes to build an AdWords campaign:

1.  The fast and lazy way.  You might come-up with an ad, loads of keywords, and throw them all just in a single ad group.  Then, have your ads on Google all in about 20 minutes.

2.  Or, you can go the more detailed route where you put your keywords into tight ad groups and create ads to split test in each.  When you get an idea to optimize, you implement it.

Many advertisers may choose the first route because they don't know any better.  However, other advertisers go with it simply because they think, "How much of a difference will it really make to put the extra work in?  Won't I make money anyway?"

The answer to this question is it is possible to make money the lazy way.  But, more often than not, you get creamed by the competition.

It's important to realize that there is space for a lot of advertisers.  However, the top few are gaining most of the benefit.  They may pay significantly less per click and generate far more targeted traffic than those advertisers on the tier below.  It's the difference between making and losing money.

So, what's the difference between top advertisers and those who struggle?

The answer is they go the extra step.  When they feel like being lazy, they keep on going.  They make sure their ads are relevant, they have tight ad groups, their keywords are relevant, and they may even create custom landing pages for each ad group.

The bottom-line is the extra time you put-in doing it right is worth it.  You go from risking it to giving yourself the best possible chance of success.

3 More Landing Page Conversion Killers

Recently, we installed Google Analytics and, by far, the most popular recent article has been "5 Landing Page Conversion Killers" located over here.  This is why today, we're going to continue on this topic and reveal more conversion killing mistakes.

Let's begin:

Conversion Killer # 1:  Having too many goals at once rather than focusing on one at a time.  

For instance, you may send visitors to your home page.  Here, you try to get your visitors to join your email list, buy your products, read your blog, and add you on Twitter.

The result is you're lucky if you get high-conversions on any of these.  The confused mind takes no action... and even the slightly confused mind takes minimal action.

What's your alternative then?

Achieve one goal at a time.  Promote your mailing list.  Once the customer joins your mailing list, promote your product.  Once he or she buys the product, promote your social media presence.  You may even do this one-after-the-other in real time.  After the customer joins your mailing list, send them over to your product sales landing page with a thank you and explanation of why you sent them there.

Conversion Killer # 2:  Not addressing the conversation taking place in your customers' minds.  This simply means saying one thing when your prospect is on a totally different page.

An example might be telling your prospect that he or she can lose weight with your solution when he or she does not believe losing weight is possible because of genetics or failure in the past.

To illustrate this concept further, let's say that your prospect buys your product or service.  What is this person thinking as he or she hits the thank you page?

Most likely he or she is feeling the same as many of your other customers.  He or she wants to be reassured that the investment he or she made was the right choice.  

You can communicate this by addressing this conversation by saying, "Thank you for your investment.  Your product is being rushed to you so you can start enjoying it right away.  Your order confirmation number is 12345.  You can contact support at any time here."

Do you see how talking to your customers this way may make a big difference in how they think and feel about his or her purchase with you?  You're on the same page.

But, it's far from the thank you page where you need to adjust your language based on what your customer is thinking.

You need to do it on your landing pages and Google ads too.

Let's say you sell wrinkle reducing beauty cream.  A prospect types-in, "Reduce Wrinkles."  Your ad shows-up.

What is the person who typed this in thinking?  The lack of the word "cream" tells you he or she may not have any idea of the best solution.

He or she may be considering botox... but, wants to see if there is another solution first.

You may then speak to the conversation going on in his or her head by saying in your ad:

Forget Needles
Eliminate wrinkles by applying 
small dab of amazing new cream.
YourDomain.com

You might also add credibility to the ad by adding, "As seen on," "Celebrity secret," "doctor approved" or other explanation for its effectiveness.

Your ad then sets your visitor up for your landing page.  On your landing page, you would then discuss the problems with botox and why the customer does not have to go through with it.

Of course, this example is just a guess of what the customer wants.  You must do research to see if your guesses pan-out.  The best way to do this is simply to listen to people in your market one-on-one.

Using empathy, putting yourself in the shoes of the person you're talking, goes a long way.

Conversion Killer # 3:  Not spelling-out the benefits of your product or service.  Most sales pages do a decent job of listing the features of the product or service.  They tell what's in it.  This is a good first step.  However, if you want to rocket your response rates, you need to go further.  Spell-out what those features mean.

For instance, a feature for anti-aging wrinkle cream may be that after it rubs on it quickly disappears and has no strong smells.  However, you can go further and say, "This means you can put it on and get on with your day.  Others will respond in a new way without a clue as to how you've done it."

Do you see how much more powerful that is?  It instantly allows the consumer to create a picture in his or her head of owning the product.

You can apply this by going through your landing pages, looking at your features, and then asking yourself, "So what?" with your prospect in mind.  You can then integrate your answers into your landing page.

Alright, we've talked about a lot of powerful strategies in this post.  We'll continue on conversion tactics in the days to come.  If you're not already subscribed to the blog update list, be sure to add yourself in the upper right corner of this page or subscribe to the RSS feed.