4. Define the Response You Want From Consumers
Your sales pitch will change depending on the response you’re after. If you own a plumbing business, then you’ll want people to call you. If you operate a coffee shop, you’ll want people to walk in. If you own a boutique clothing shop, then you may be trying to promote your new e-commerce portal. Your campaigns will be most effective when you clearly define their unique goals.
Remember, you can also create different ad groups within the same campaign. Consider how building different ad groups can help you connect more strongly with customers.
5. Make Your Landing Pages Compelling
Take a good look at your landing page — is it consistent with your target audience, your sales pitch and your advertising goals? It had better be, or else all those visitors you worked so hard to attract will leave within seconds.
The golden rule is to make sure your landing page clearly delivers on any promises made in your ad. For example, if your ad promises free shipping, then your landing page should prominently feature either information or a link about your offer. Also, determine whether your landing pages will help your visitors complete your desired objectives. Is your business phone number prominently displayed with a call link for mobile users? Can visitors requests quotes, appointments or make reservations online?
Also, keep in mind that most people view the Web nowadays through their mobile phones. That means your landing page will likely be inadequate if it’s not designed to be viewed on mobile devices.
6. Make a Call-to-Action
A Call-to-Action, or CTA, is a short, clear instruction delivered in each online advertisement. Your CTAs should mirror your most important advertising goals for each of your campaigns. If you want people to call your business, then your CTA could be “Call Us Now.” Want to drive online sales? Then try a CTA of “Order Online.” Some ads contain more than one CTA, but a good place to start is making one CTA per advertisement.
7. Set Up Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking is critical to be successful with AdWords.
In your AdWords account, go to the “Tools and Analysis” tab and click “Conversions” in the drop-down menu. Follow the steps to create a conversion; AdWords will provide code to add to your website. Once the code is in place, AdWords can track how often your advertisements convert visitors into leads, calls, and customers – and there’s no need to explain why this is so valuable.
8. Spy on Your Competition
Who said you had to come up with all the good ideas? If you’re new to online advertising, then you’ll probably be up against competing marketers and businesses that have been in the game far longer than you have. And you can mine their advertisements for leverage to help you.
The most basic way to do this is search for your best keywords and see which other advertisements appear. Check out their sales pitches, their CTAs and their ad titles. Click on different ads for examples of competitors’ landing pages. For even more data, register with a site such as Spyfu.com or KeywordSpy.com to see which keywords your competitors are using.
Want more Google AdWords tips and advice? I put together an AdWords checklist to help you get your campaigns set up for success. Click here to get my Google AdWords checklist.
