Many businesses that see it this way develop the online marketing strategy of running AdWords until they rank on Google organically and then turning off the AdWords. This strategy is a flawed one that could be costing those businesses growth. In fact, AdWords and SEO support each other very well in several ways.

Everyone uses Google differently and there are some people who only click on the paid ads section because that’s at the very top of the page. Conversely there are other users who understand they are ads and only click on the organic listings. By not doing either AdWords or SEO you’re immediately cutting off your visibility to a segment of the market. For those people who don’t have a preference between ads and organic you can give yourself two spots on Google’s first page and double your chances of getting them to your website by doing both AdWords and SEO.

Organic listings and the free clicks they provide are a definite pro for SEO but they have their limitations. SEO efforts focus on exact match phrases but with AdWords you can use broad matches and still have access to those consumers who aren’t typing in the exact keywords you’re targeting with your SEO. Without using AdWords correctly, a business will simply not have any access to those consumers.

AdWords is also a fantastic source of data which provides invaluable statistics on the performance of different keywords. The ability to change keywords at any time and see how they perform is a level of flexibility and speed that SEO simply can’t match. With SEO being a long term investment any business should strongly consider compiling some data through AdWords to see what works and what doesn’t before launching a full scale SEO campaign.

After that AdWords can continue to be used in supporting new products and testing different directions so that future SEO efforts are also launched in the right directions. And at the end of the day if AdWords is bringing in more money than it’s costing, why would you turn it off?

In fact, they give the average AdWords user a veritable arsenal of options to enhance their campaign’s performance.

Your Google AdWords interface can reveal some very telling trends as far as when you should and when you shouldn’t advertise.

Your conservative daily budget of $20 per day has to yield a return. Basically, you need to make more than $20 per day to make AdWords worth its while.

By familiarising yourself with the Dimensions tab you can establish a number of fascinating strategies. From what day of the week your campaign returns sales, to what hour of the day you advertise, thus improving your potential to convert.

Of course, chronological data isn’t all you can use the Dimensions tab for. Dimensions will give you visibility as to where searchers are located around Australia.

Most web based companies within Australia advertise across the entire length and breadth of this wonderful island. On the face of it, this would make perfect sense. However, wouldn’t it be great to see where most of your business comes from? Wouldn’t it be beneficial to know what geographical area is costing you money and what towns and cities are proving profitable? The Dimensions tab will give you this insight!

In reality, the product or service you sell will dictate where you should and shouldn’t advertise. If you’re a local plumber in Perth, how does a mass influx of clicks in Sydney benefit you? If you sell thermal underwear you would be wasting your time advertising in Darwin, for example.

So, that small light green tab that you’ve probably been ignoring until now can enable you to make some serious decisions regarding advertising strategy. From where you should advertise, to what day and time of day you should spend that $20 daily budget.

Some times it’s the small things in life that make the biggest difference.

Social media, a fancy term, that describes the forces behind facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many other Web 2.0 services that allow online users to connect with one another in a virtual social environment.

It has been around for many years, but 2013 heralds a new dimension to the service – its entry into the business arena. Many new start-up businesses with limited marketing budgets are now including social media in their business plans.

Combined with improved mobile technology, Facebook and Twitter rival Google by offering business owners far cheaper pay-per-click advertising services and a different but competing reach of users.

To put it in perspective, are you likely to choose a plumber from the first page of Google or would you choose a local plumber that four of your friends have recommended on Facebook?

This is the logic driving Facebook’s combined activities with Bing that will revolutionise the interaction between businesses and social media campaigns. Once again, SponsoredLinX Research & Development department is already ahead of the industry in developing tailored packages for comprehensive social media campaigns for small businesses. Speak with your Internet Marketing Specialist today about how you can embrace the new world of marketing that social media offers.

Imagine for a second that you need an optometrist. Quite often you’d then be wondering if any of your friends might be able to recommend a good one.

Imagine then that you could INSTANTLY know exactly which optometrists your friends had been to and how they felt about the service they received there rather than just pulling up a website from a traditional search engine and hoping for the best or putting off a booking until your friends may or may not get back to you.

With Graph Search, this is EXACTLY what is on offer.

Using their unique database of information, facebook are now able to offer a search engine where you can enter multiple unique search parameters and combine them for one filtered and very targeted result. Things like, “friends of my friends who like Sydney dental and are female,” (not sure why I included the female part, just making a point).

Add to this the HUGE potential of facebook advertising, which has been refined and improved over the past year to a point where you could target only one person if you wanted to and you’ve got some incredibly powerful tools to work with!

Facebook competitions and advertising go hand in hand and if you are managing your page correctly (meaning you interact with your audience and offer them something to keep them coming back) then you can expect some serious re-marketing potential as well as acquisition of new customers via direct referrals and pay-per-click ads.

Call us today on 1300 859 600 to find out more or check out a few statistics here.

Is it fair to assume that it was a high CTR? Well, the answer to that question is, maybe.

The relationship between numbers and words is no different within Google as it is in general, everyday life.

Would you buy a house based purely in the price? Probably not. The list of criteria attached to such an important decision is literally endless. Are the schools in the area good? Is public transport easily accessible?

If the answer is no to these questions, then the bargain house you’ve saved up for years to buy will be more costly than you’d think. In short, you should have spent the extra money on a home that meets your needs. Why? Well, because the local amenities and services are relevant to you. You have kids, you need to be by good schools. You don’t have a car, you need access to public transport.

As I said before, Google Ad Words is no different. You may have a ‘dream CTR’ but the way your campaign arrived there might not be relevant.

As you look at your CTR and revel in the glory of having a relevant campaign. Ask yourself a very simple question. How did I get there?

The relationship between the numbers (CTR) and words (Keywords) will make or break your campaign and, ultimately, your on-line business.

Let me paint a picture to demonstrate this relationship.

You own a car dealership that sells secondhand red convertibles. You select red as a phrase and broad match keyword. You have a CTR of 10%. From 300 impressions, they received 30 clicks. You only received 1 on-line inquiry. Your total cost for the day was $150.

On looking at your keywords, your advert has been triggered by a vast number of inquires based around red shirts, red pants and red backs. None of which can result in you making a a sale!

Despite the fact you only sell secondhand red convertibles you have been clicked repeatedly by searchers looking for products you doesn’t sell. Thus costing you money. All of a sudden, that 10% CTR doesn’t look so great.

By changing his keyword type to a phrase match ’secondhand red convertibles’ and adding negative keywords you can be assured that only people that are looking for your product will trigger the advert.

The next day, your’ campaign received 3 inquires from 40 clicks and 60 impressions at a cost of $ 15. Now, your CTR for the day is 5%.

Your campaign, as you can see, received 3 inquires at a cost of $15 with a CTR of 5%.

You received a lot less impressions and clicks, but the clicks your campaign received were relevant ,thus, resulting in more inquires at a lower overall cost.

This is quite obviously a much more advantageous way to run your AdWords marketing.

On selecting keywords, you should never underestimate the trust and belief that people have in Google to deliver relevant and pertinent search results. As a result, searchers are of the opinion that every advert they are shown will, in some way, result in an answer to their inquiry.

Had you decided your original strategy was fine to run with you would have spent, over the course of a year, $49,000 more and received 700 less inquires than if you’d run with a more streamline and product specific campaign.

Your CTR can be improved, over time, by bringing other factors into the equation. Ad position and Ad copy can increase the CTR but your first port of call should be the relevancy of your keywords.

Remember, if you’re a non-driving parent you wouldn’t buy a bargain house in the middle of nowhere with no schools or public transport links.

If you sell a specific product or service, be as specific as you can with your keyword selection. Just a one percent relevant increase in your CTR can result in a massive financial boost to your business!

Here are some very simple factors that should be taken into account for any website that is aimed at either selling a product or service, or getting subscribers.

Firstly- Be Relevant & Focused! There’s nothing to lose by focusing a page on a single product or service, and much to gain. It reiterates to someone who is coming in via paid advertising that here is what they were looking for, and doesn’t offer distractions. It’s all well and good to describe a product and its benefits, its uses and how happy it has made everyone who has it… but the second you start trying to sell them something else at the same time- the users attention is divided, uncertainty is introduced and your chance of converting plummets.

Secondly- Be Reassuring! Many people are still coming to terms with buying and booking online, so here are a few things that should be reflected on every page. 1) A contact number is a must (preferably not mobile, a land line or 1800 number is ideal as this gives the perception of an established business with real people on the other end, ready to assist). 2) Easily recognizable forms of payment such as PayPal, visa, MasterCard etc. Having these logos clearly showing at the top of the page is psychologically reassuring to say the least and 3) Testimonials! Real people, giving reviews, expressing their confidence in the site, company or product is a huge factor in reassuring a user who may be dubious. To add to the above, if you have any awards or certifications, these are only going to help your cause, so why not add them near the header bar?

Thirdly- Know your audience. Your audience wants a deal, they are clearly looking around (hence they found you on Google!) So why not offer the right product at the right price? Think of who the products marketed at, and write your site text accordingly. Most importantly of all, what device is your audience likely to be using, and is your website equipped to deal with that traffic? A perfect example would be as a locksmith, your average user will be someone who only has their mobile at hand as they are currently locked out of their house… also take into account that more and more traffic these days is mobile, so regardless of what you sell or provide service wise, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

There is a last factor that should be prioritised that many ignore all together, and this is the source code of the site (the only thing that Google’s bots are looking at when reviewing quality scores for an AdWords campaigns keywords). It is important to include a keyword list, or meta tags on the back end of the site so that Google can see what the page is about, and the keywords that are being used in your AdWords campaign should be clearly reflected therein. This will boost quality scores, and as such ensure that it will be cheaper for you (the advertiser) to display your ads in a good position, meaning more impressions, more clicks, and more potential customers coming through to your site for your advertising dollar!

If you own an ecommerce site, you will have no doubt invested a considerable amount of time and money on developing the site and the checkout process, and of course online marketing.

So how do you make this investment work?

There are two stages an ecommerce site should go through to ensure the traffic that is driven to the site is relevant (i.e. looking for the products you provide), and that once there the experience is a positive one ensuring maximum conversions.

Firstly, to ensure your marketing investment is being spent on relevant searches, the focus should be on working with your Google AdWords professional on keyword strategy and account structure.  This is a vital part of the process, as it ensures your budget is being spent on users who are searching your products, whilst avoiding tyre-kickers and non-related searches.

You’ve now achieved a high relevancy in your Google advertising, however your conversions are not significantly increasing…what now?

To answer this question it needs to be determined what your users are doing once they reach your site.  The key is to identify any roadblocks that exist on your site and remove them.  A powerful tool to identify these roadblocks is Google Analytics Goals and Funnel tracking.  Analytics has the ability to track users’ movements on the site, and map out the expected path a converting customer should travel.  This allows us to monitor the user experience from the time they land on your site to the time they exit the site, including each step of the checkout process.  The information gained allows us to identify where on your site the users are disengaging, which enables you to make informed decisions on how to improve user experience, and in turn increase conversions.

As the investment in driving relevant traffic to your ecommerce site is significant, you should ensure you  have professionals working with you to increase the conversions and maximise your return on investment.

Existing SponsoredLinX clients should discuss increasing conversions through Google Analytics with your Internet Marketing Specialists.  If you are not a client or have a new site, contact us today for a free health check and ensure you are making the most of your advertising dollar.

Google Enhanced (or could be described as Google Simplified) is an attempt by Google developers to make the process of targeting campaigns towards desktop and mobile users and much easier process. This is a direct response to the trends that forecast mobile search traffic will overtake desktop search traffic in 2013.

However, as with most things that are watered down to become simplified, by engaging this program, we surrender some control over the AdWords account. Google wanted to make it easier for advertisers to analyse pay-per-click data by merging the statistics from several devices into one easy-to-read set of metrics.

Google announced this on Inside AdWords, their flagship information distributer for AdWords. “With enhanced campaigns, instead of having to cobble together and compare several separate campaigns, reports and ad extensions to do this, the pizza restaurant can easily manage all of this in one single place. Enhanced campaigns help you reach people with the right ads, based on their context like location, time of day and device type, across all devices without having to set up and manage several separate campaigns” (Google Blogspot, 2013).

Diligence and scepticism must be emphasised here when looking at Google’s true motives for releasing this. Advertisers are businesses and like any form of marketing, AdWords must be accountable for the return on investment effect it creates for a business. Advertisers and internet marketing specialists alike would be more inclined to have more control over their campaigns, in order to safely assert the elimination of irrelevant traffic, and capitalise on elements that are generating solid ROI. Google Enhanced effectively removes control over those elements – surrendering the ability to hold AdWords to the same accountability for business purposes. Google is also a business, and generates its revenue on AdWords from clicks. From a business perspective, Google would prefer to have more clicks, in order to encourage advertisers to commit to spend more on AdWords.

To our existing clients, please speak with your internet marketing specialist about the effects Google Enhanced can have on your campaign and any impacts that could be caused on our ability to analyse your campaign’s data. If you aren’t a client, call us today for a free health check and learn the benefits and risks of a Google Enhanced campaign.

In addition to their flagship products – AdWords, Ad Exchange, Google +, Google Commerce, AdSense & the Display Network, they also own YouTube and the Android Mobile software platform. In a 3 way tussle between Apple and Microsoft, the Android Mobile system is picking up a very large chunk of this market. Google have also purchased Motorola which will eventually give them the ability to develop their own mobile phone hardware to rival the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy.

ACCC argued that Google’s policies and procedures didn’t hold advertisers accountable and that Google themselves should be held responsible for loss of revenue. Federal court dismissed ACCC’s claims causing the matter to be appealed to the High Court.

For the first time, a legal precedent has now been set; shedding light onto what was previously a legal grey area. Companies such as Google, running search engine pay-per-click advertising, are no longer directly culpable for advertisers bidding on keywords set out to mirror another competitor, declaring that advertisers themselves are responsible for their own AdWords accounts.

Whilst another legal challenge may be required to determine if advertisers are directly culpable of this action, we would advise our valued clients that the risk this poses may not be worth the benefit. Now that the High Court has establish legal precedent, SponsoredLinX would recommend safe optimisation and using “white-hat” techniques and that you seek professional advice before advertising on Google.

If you are concerned your account is using competitor’s brand names as keywords, please give us a call to discuss sooner rather than later. Advertisers who are not using SponsoredLinX management services can book in for a free health check today to determine if their account is exposed to this legal minefield.