By Gary Finn
Account Executive
The following are some practical steps to setting up and managing a Google Adwords account. Google Adwords is a pay-per-click (PPC) advertising network on Google. The advertisements appear on the right hand side of the Google search results pags on keywords that you choose and bid for.
Before setting up your Adwords account for the first time, it is strongly recommended that you take the tutorial relating to the setting up of an Adwords account. This takes no longer than 10 minutes and can save you a lot of effort in the long run!
Essentially, the key to a successful Adwords campaign is Keyword Research. Researching and identifying the most popular keywords used by searchers relating to your product/service, plus their many keyword variations, should be the first step in setting up any Adwords account. Google's Keyword Suggestion tool is a useful tool that will identify possible keyword variations of your most important keywords.
The set-up process is a 4-step procedure. The first stage asks you to choose the Language and Country where you want your ads to appear. For example, if you are only targeting searchers from Ireland, select this option and so forth. An advertiser can choose from dozens of languages and nearly 200 countries.
During Step 2, you will have to create your first Adwords ad. When creating the ad, consider your most important keywords and possible action phrases to include in the copy of the ad. You are asked for a Title, two lines of description and a URL. In addition, look at the other ads already on Google to give you a sense of how to write them. Where possible, use the targeted keyword in the title of your ad.
Next, you will have to choose the keywords that trigger your ad. This is where the keyword research comes in handy. Use this to choose the most appropriate keywords to entice potential customers to click on your ad.
Step 3 involves choosing the currency you want to use, setting the maximum cost-per-click (CPC) you're willing to pay. You choose a maximum cost-per=click for each keyword and Google then calculates an estimate of how many clicks per day this will deliver.
The penultimate stage involves setting the daily budget. Once you have finalised the max CPC for each keyword, you should have an accurate idea of the amount. Depending on your budgetary restraints, you can go under the recommended budget suggested by Google. This means that when your daily budget has expired your ads will no longer display during that day. The next day the clock is reset and your ad will display until your daily budget expires.
The final step lets you choose a username and password and sets up your account where you will have to enter necessary billing information and credit card numbers. There is a $5 activation fee for this.
Once you have completed this you are ready to start driving traffic to your website! Note, that it is important to spend time experimenting with the copy of your ads and max CPC's to get the best return on investment. Good luck!
