Before you build a google adwords campaign, I’m going to assume you have a domain name, a website, shopping cart software, product(s) to sell and a google adwords account. If you are not sure what google adwords is, perform a google search on any keyword, like ipod and you will see small, 4-line ads, across the top and down the right-hand side of the page. Watch the featured video for an introduction to google adwords.
The first task is to find your keyword lists. There are many keyword tools available to help you, including google’s own keyword tool. Develop a large list of keywords based on your salesletter, product or service. Brainstorm and think laterally as well as using the keyword tools. You will also need to use negative keywords (more on these in a later article).
When you have a dozen main topic keywords, type them into google and study your competitors adverts, especially the top 3. What can you learn from them? What are they selling? Which adverts do you feel compelled to click? Why? What was it in the advert that grabbed you and filled you with a desire to know more?
When you have your keywords ready, and you’ve studied your competitors adverts, you can setup your campaign. The steps are not difficult. Choose your language and location, write your first advert then insert your keywords. Each group of 5-10 strongly-related keywords should have it’s own advert. Choose your currency, daily budget, maximum CPC (Cost Per Click) then enter your billing information. Your campaign is live.
It’s no more complicated than that! It’s a good idea, however, to go back and tweak your campaign. Especially as google ask you to write your advert before choosing your keywords. A little back-to-front. So, you’ll probably want to edit your advert based on your collection of keywords. I recommend writing 2 or 3 adverts and running them in rotation. Google does this automatically for you and tells you which advert gets the most clicks.
I can recommend Perry Marshall’s Ultimate guide to google adwords.
