Sunday, March 22, 2009

Winning With Google Adwords - 5 Things You Need To Know

For those unfamiliar with the medium, creating and maintaining an Adwords campaign may seem a daunting task. In reality, however, the process doesn't have to be anxiety inducing. Those who aren not getting the results they need from traditional marketing tactics should not be afraid to venture into the realm of marketing online with Google Adwords.

Online marketing gurus like Perry Marshall have already laid the groundwork for meeting your marketing goals with Google Adwords, and achieving this success is much easier than you probably think. As a matter of fact, you can skip all the books and seminars you thought you'd have to spend days or even weeks reading and attending, and simply follow the step by step method described below.

Here are just five steps for creating a winning Google Adwords strategy:

1. Take advantage of keyword tools available online. Perry Marshall suggests that Adword users not look a gift horse in the mouth with regard to the myriad tools and applications available online to help marketers with keyword decisions. Keyword Universe from Wordtracker is one great tool that can help you find effective keywords and related words.

2. Watch your competition. If you're still unsure about how to approach the issue of keywords, don't underestimate the utility of simply looking to see what your competitors are bidding, and what they're willing to pay. How does one access this information, you ask? Well, on www.spyfu.com, you can do this and more. Use this information to guide your decisions in regard to what keywords and keyphrases to pursue and how much to spend.

3. Use text effectively. An Adwords ad contains only a very limited amount of text, and so it stands to reason that you will want to use the allotted space as efficiently as possible. The two key lines at your disposal should address the benefits of what you are selling first off, with remaining space listing or two important features.

4. Shoot for page one. Rather than cutting back on your bid prices, which may result in your ad not even appearing on page one of sponsored search results, it is better to reduce your budget, which will allow you to maintain a first-page position.

5. Employ the useful strategy of split testing. Split testing, a pet strategy of Adwords guru Perry Marshall, consists of simultaneously running two or more ads and comparing the results in order to more accurate gauge what strategies and phrasings effectively attract traffic, and which do not. By doing this, you can get relatively fast feedback, and perhaps even secure lower prices on useful keywords.

Getting started with Google Adwords is a simple process, but you need to begin with the right approach to get results immediately. Start things off with these five steps so you can start getting clicks and driving traffic to your blog, website or sales page with ease.