GOOGLE ADWORDS

COURSE BREAKDOWN – FUNDAMENTALS EXAMS1. Introduction to Adwords

2. Account Set-up and Basics

3. Ad Formats

4. Targeting and Placements

5. Bidding and Budgets

6. Ad Quality Topics

INTRODUCTION TO ADWORDS

Module 1

1.1 OVERVIEW OF ADWORDS

GETTING STARTED ON ADWORDS

BENEFITS OF ADWORDS

RelevanceReturn on InvestmentReach

BASIC FEATURESKeywordPlacementImage AdCampaignAd groupImpressionClick

BASIC FEATURESClick-through RateCost per ClickMaximum Cost per ClickCost-per-thousand ClickQuality ScoreFirst page bid estimatesOptimization

ACCOUNT SET UP AND BASICS

Module 2

SEARCH VS DISPLAY NETWORK Google search

Mobile search

CPC

Google search partner sites

Text ads on websites

Image ads on websites

Video ads on websites

Ads on mobile websites

Managed placements

CPM

ACCOUNT STRUCTUREAccount

Unique email addressPassword

Billing information         

Campaign   CampaignDaily budgetGeo-targeting

Syndication preferenceStart and end dates

  Daily budgetGeo-targeting

Syndication preferenceStart and end dates

         Ad Group Ad Group   Ad Group Ad GroupOne set of keywords

One or more ads

One set of keywords

One or more ads

  One set of keywords

One or more ads

One set of keywords

One or more ads

  

2.1 ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT BASICSModule 2

MONITORING ADWORDS ACCOUNTS All critical account alerts related to payment problems, pending budget end

dates, credit and bank card expirations, ad disapprovals, and other issues that will cause your ads to stop being displayed are shown in the Campaigns tab, at the All Online Campaigns level.

The alerts can be changed at the Notification settings page (under My Account) You can also set up SMS alerts

2.2 CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT BASICSModule 2

KEY CONCEPTS From the campaigns tab:

Receive alerts Create a new campaign Change campaign settings See the list of campaigns View campaign status

Enabled: Set to run normally Paused: Temporarily suspended and not currently running Deleted: Deleted and no longer running Pending: Not yet started running Ended: No longer running as end date has already passed

KEY CONCEPTS Clicks: The clicks accrued for the ads in each campaign

Impr. (impressions): The number of times that the campaign's ads have been displayed on Google or on sites in the Google Network

CTR (click-through rate): The number of clicks divided by the number of impressions that the ads have received. This is expressed as a percentage: 2 clicks for 100 page views equals a 2% CTR.

Avg. CPC (average cost per click): The average cost accrued for clicks on the ads within that campaign.

Cost: The total costs that a campaign has accrued during the time frame that you selected.

Avg. Pos. (average position): This refers to the average position on a search result page that an ad appears in when it's triggered by that keyword.

Conv. (1-per-click) (conversion rate): The number of user clicks that turned into actual conversions for the advertiser. Conversion rate equals the number of conversions divided by the number of ad clicks.

Cost/Conv. (1-per-click): The total cost divided by the total number of conversions. This tells you how much each conversion costs. This applies only to users who have set up conversion tracking.

Conv. rate (1-per-click): Number of conversions divided by total clicks. This tells you your conversion rate. This applies only to users who have set up conversion tracking. 

KEY CONCEPTSFrom the campaigns tab:

Account tree: Use this menu beside your account pages to switch between campaigns and ad groups.

Performance summary graphs: Use these customised graphs to compare trends on every level of your account. Click the "Change Graph Options" link to see data points such as clicks, impressions and average position or to compare two of these metrics at once.

Networks tab: This is where you manage your placements. You'll also see the summary statistics for both your Search and Display Networks.

Campaign roll-ups: 'Roll-up' views let you see and edit all a campaign's keywords, placements or ads in one place, instead of finding and changing them ad group by ad group.

Dynamic help content: Help sections display the FAQs that you most likely need for the page that you're viewing. Of course, you can also always click the "Help" link in the top corner of your account to see the full Adwords Help Centre.

KEY CONCEPTSActions you can take from the Campaigns tab:

Campaign and ad group creation workflow: Create new campaigns and ad groups with the New+ button at the top of any table.

In-line editing: Edit ads, keywords, placements and bids within the tables on the campaign and ad group tabs in your account. Just position your cursor over a row to reveal the editable fields.

Copy/move: A click of this button lets you copy and move keywords, placements and ad groups between campaigns without leaving the campaign management interface.

2.3 AD GROUP MANAGEMENT BASICSModule 2

AD GROUP MANAGEMENT Ad groups can be separately named, sorted by results, paused, edited

Groups can host different keywords, placements, ads, bids

But location and bidding occur at a campaign level

Ad groups tab shows you a summary of performance/issues in all groups

ADWORDS AD FORMATS & BEST PRACTICESModule 3.1 + 3.2

TEXT ADS

TEXT ADS OR SPONSORED LINKS

TEXT AD GUIDELINES Editorial and format: 

Character limit: Your intended headline, text and URL must fit within the required limits and not be cut off.

Prices, discounts and free offers: If your ad includes a price, special discount or "free" offer, it must be clearly and accurately displayed on your website within 1-2 clicks of your ad's landing page.

Punctuation and symbols: Among other requirements, ads may only contain a maximum of one exclamation point.

Content: These policies relate to the products and services that you advertise, and may apply to ads and the content of your site. For example, advertising is not permitted for the promotion of certain weapons or for aids to pass drug tests.

Link: These policies relate to the Display and Destination URLs in your ad. For example, the Display URL must be accurate and links to your website must allow users to enter and exit the landing page easily.

TEXT AD GUIDELINES Ads should:

Be simple and enticing Include prices and promotions Strong call to action Include the keywords in the text

IMAGE ADS

IMAGE ADS Animated or static

Never on the search network

The power of the image

Give each image a title Don't exceed 50 characters Include an image description Include the campaign or ad group name

All image ads need to first be approved by Google before they start running

The display ad builder allows for template designs

IMAGE BEST PRACTICE Call to action - such as "learn more", "buy now" or "visit us today"

Prominently showing your Display URL which typically contains a company's name, is a major component of a text ad. You have more room in an image ad, so don't be afraid to use your brand or logo as well

Include details like prices, delivery details and relevant special offers

Ads lead to a relevant landing page

Use appropriate capitalisation - the nice thing about display is that you can have all caps

Promote a sense of urgency in your display ads if you have time-sensitive pricing or offers. Use phrases like "hurry!", "limited time" and "special offer" to capture a user's attention and push them to take action

Keep it simple

Include product images

Each frame should hold its own weight (has logo)

VIDEO ADS

VIDEO ADS Think entertainment audience

One of the largest formats of media consumption

Formats In stream text ads In stream graphical overlay Click-to-play ads

CPM or CPC + always Display network

You must use the display ad builder for your ads

Managed placements or keyword targeted campaign

Low impressions = increase bid

VIDEO AD BEST PRACTICE Video audiences are not captive (unlike TV)

Display your message as quickly as possible (ppl drop off quickly)

Be clear about your message (there might not be a web visit)

Sight must equal sound

Opening image

Money shot

Rich sharp colours

Include a few words to describe offering

Tell users to click play to learn more

Different placements have different opening image sizes

Don’t turn your banner image into your video opening image

Don’t cram text

VIDEO AD BEST PRACTICE Wait 30 days before testing results

In interaction is low = change videos and images

Rather bid by impression, if using CPC use negative keywords

Focus on interaction rates not click through rates as measure of success

If one site is performing better, ad more sites like it

MOBILE ADS

MOBILE ADS Smaller to fit on smaller screens

Mobile ads MUST lead to a mobile website

They can include a ‘Call’ functionality

iPhones (and others) display normal ads, not mobile ads

Create a separate campaign (rather)

Mobile image ads work the same as the desktop versions except 12 or 18 character limits

MOBILE ADS BEST PRACTICE Link policy language

wml (WAP 1.x)xhtml (WAP 2.0)chtml (imode, etc.)PDA-compliant html

No flash!

6:1 Aspect Ratio

300 x 50, less than 7.5 KB file size

216 x 36, less than 4.5 KB file size

168 x 28, less than 3 KB file size

4:1 Aspect Ratio

300 x 75, less than 7.5 KB file size

216 x 54, less than 4.5 KB file size

168 x 42, less than 3 KB file size

Japan-standard size

192 x 53, less than 5 KB file size

MOBILE ADS BEST PRACTICE Start early

Be aggressive

Separate desktop and mobile ad campaigns

Choose different keywords for mobile vs desktop

Catchy ads win

You can still use display in mobile!

Apps work too

Target per device

RICH MEDIA ADS

RICH MEDIA ADS Include videos, flash, animation, or a mix of text & images

Gallery in the Display Ad Builder (must use)

Managed placements (recommended at least 10) or keyword targeted

CPC or CPM

RICH MEDIA ADS BEST PRACTICE Always respect copyright on the images you use

All ad policies apply

You may not use the ad to collect private information

Strategies for bidding

Compete – place ad with text ads and the one that performs the best will automatically be shown more often (remember you are then bidding the same rate)

Own ad group – In the ad auction text ads and display compete against each other

RICH MEDIA ADS BEST PRACTICE Customising your ad

Colour Strong call to action Balance images and text in ad Include a visible URL Experiment! (copy, templates, colour, call to action)

RICH MEDIA ADS BEST PRACTICE Measurement

Driving sales Compare cost to leads or conversions Narrow targeting to focus on customers Look at hover over rate Analytics to understand website behaviour Use conversion tracking

SUMMARY AD FORMATSFormat Network Cost Format

Text Search or partner CPC 25,35,35,35

Image Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder

Video Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder

Mobile Only partner CPC or CPM 18,18,18, Call

Rich Only partner CPC or CPM Ad builder

ADWORDS TARGETING AND PLACEMENTModule 4

THE GOOGLE NETWORKSearch Network Display Network

Google + AOL etc.Google search does not equal Search Network

Gmail, YouTube, News24 etc.

By default ads are automatically placed on BOTH networks

Keyword targeting:- Search phrases

Keyword targeting:-Contextual targeting

No placement Placement targeting - Managed placements (specific sites)

Quality score is calculated separately for the two networks, so even in one campaign the same ad may have different quality scores for search and display

Text ads Text ads + images, video, rich etc.

TARGETINGSearch Targeting Keyword-targeted ads on Google search +

Search NetworkTarget languages, location & keywords

Display Network Targeting An entire website, or subsection or even a specific ad unit on a pageContextual targeting

Device Platform Targeting 1. Desktops and laptops or2. iPhones or other HTML providers• Applied at campaign level• Can target the Google network• Stats with device breakdown• No impact on mobile campaigns

KEYWORDS & KEYWORD TARGETING

MATCH TYPESType Characteristics Keyword Matching searches

Broad DefaultLargest reachIncludes plurals and synonyms

PR Agency PR AgenciesAdvertising PR agencyPR JHB agency

“Phrase match” Keywords in exact sequence

“PR Agency” JHB PR AgencyFH PR AgenciesPR Corporate agency

[Exact] Matches exactly consumer search phrase

[PR Agency] PR AgencyPR AgenciesJHB PR Agencies

-Negative Prevent your ad from appearing when another word appears in a search

PR Agency –Cape Town

PR AgencyJHB PR AgencyCape Town PR agencies

-{Embedded] Removes an embedded exact search phrase

-[Philips] Lighting Philips lightsPhilips lightingPhilips

KEYWORD LISTS

Build keyword list

• Using the Google Keyword tool

Group keywords by

theme

Set the right match for

each keyword

Refine list Test & refine

MONITORING KEYWORDS Quality Score (disabled by default)

Keyword analysis tool

Remember to adjust poor performing keywords and change the match rules

Keywords must match what your advertising

KEYWORDS BEST PRACTICE Group keywords

Broader match give scale but could blow budget

Narrow match gives fewer targeted clicks and can save $

Negative keywords rock

Don’t forget about campaign level settings/adjustments

Keep keyword list tight 20-30

Two or three word phrases work best

Keep testing keywords and refining.

ADWORDS LOCATION

TARGETING

LANGUAGE & LOCATION Language – Target up to 40 languages

Location – Any combination

Target the language spoken by the audience that you're trying to reach. This should also be the language in which your ad is written.

Target countries or territories if you want to reach a wide audience across one or more countries.

Target regions and cities if your business serves specific geographic areas or if you want different advertising messages in different regions.

Target customised areas to reach specific geographic areas which may not be available in region and city targeting.

You can combine these targeting options any way you like within the same campaign.

HOW THIS STUFF WORKSLanguage = Google interface language

Location =

Google Domain (e.g www.google.fr = france)

Search term (e.g. Johannesburg PR agency = JHB)

IP address

LOCATION Regional or City Targeting

Proximity or radius targeting

LOCATION CHALLENGES IP address shows wrong location

A user outside the target area searches for something specific in it (they will still see your ad, automatically)

You target country level, Google then uses their domain, but the user is actually in a different location (e.g. Chris using google.co.za in Amsterdam)

BEST PRACTICE Before setting location, check Google Insights for search, optimise for

country traffic

Check on campaign performance where traffic actually comes from and optimise

Different regions can have different landing pages

Add location extensions to your ads

PLACEMENT TARGETING

(Display Network)

GOOGLE DISPLAY NETWORK – RECAP Display network reaches 70% of all internet users in 20 languages in 100

countries

Automatic placements: If you have keywords in your ad group and are targeting the Display Network, using contextual targeting

Managed placements: If you choose to manage placements separately for increased control, you'll use managed placements.

Excluded placements: You can also choose certain placements on which you don't want to run ads.

Contextual Targeting Individual Placement targeting Managed placements

Your keywords are used to match page level contentRemember this is set by default

Bidding (in order)• Individual placement bids• Managed placements bid• Display Network bid (or

your campaign if you leave it blank)

PlacementsNo keywords required, you choose the sites. Ads appear regardless of contentCan be the entire site, section or ad unitMust be part of the networkPlacement tool will help tell you where to placeYou still compete in the bid for that spaceCan exclude up to 5 000 sites

Allow for placement targeting or restrictionsSeparate bid managementFirst Google uses keyword contextual targeting, then managed placement rules

3 ways to select placements:• Manually• Automatic• Placement tool

Bidding (in order):• Individual bid. • Ad group managed

placement bid.• Ad group Display Network

bid• Ad group default bid

MONITORING PERFORMANCE Run a URL report and check:

Implement Google's conversion tracking so that you can understand how individual sites are converting for you.

Don't focus on lower overall click-through rates (CTR). Remember: A low CTR on a given site does not necessarily mean that your ads perform poorly. Users behave differently on Display Network pages than they do on search sites. For more telling information, rely on your conversion data.

When you find placements where ads from one ad group convert well, consider adding them as managed placements on the Networks tab in your ad group. Try raising your bid so that your ads will have a better chance of appearing whenever your keywords put your ad on that placement. Or try doing the opposite with poorer-performing placements: lower your bid to seek a better ROI on those specific placements.

Respond only to statistically significant data. It may take several weeks before you can see how your ad is doing on a specific site. We recommend waiting until you have enough click and impression data before making decisions.

Use the report to identify and exclude sites that are not converting for your campaign.

OTHER TARGETING OPTIONS Videos can be targeted, using the placement tool

Ability to target game sites

Ability to target RSS feeds

Ability to target mobile sites

BEST PRACTICE Using the right keywords

Select placements that match your ad

Try using rich media

Use placement diagnosis to uncover problems

BIDDING

Module 5

TYPES OF BIDSCost per Click Cost-per thousand impressions Conversion Optimiser

Only pay when someone clicks

Automatic bidding – You set a daily budget, Adwords gives you the most clicks a day for that budget. You can also still set a max CPC

Manual bidding – Set individual bids at group, keyword or placement level

Great for branding and visibility

Set on group or placement level

When CPC and CPM compete against each other eCPM is used (or effective CPM). I.e. working out a CPC into a CPM prising model

Set a cost per conversion per campaign

Using the conversion optimiser, Google attempts to give you a lower cost per conversion, lowers your bid automatically for less likely clicks.

Campaign must receive at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days and maintain a similar conversion rate

You can still set a max CPA

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS• When setting up an account consider the value of a click and your daily budget

• Adsheduling - Adjust bids by time of day (using the bid multiplier, 10% to 1000% of the original CPC.

• Note this affects all ads in the campaign

• Demographic bidding ( Bid + %) – Increase your bid when the right demographic is being targeted

Best practice:

• Choose the bidding strategy that fits your goals

• Consider automatic bidding for new advertisers

• Use bid simulator to see possible advertising results with different bids and keywords

• Review where the best bids come from and shift focus

BUDGETSDaily budget = amount your willing to spend per campaign on averageUp to 20% over budget on a given day, but never over 100% of the budget over the lifespan of a campaign

Standard deliveryImpressions are spread out through the day

Accelerated deliveryDisplay your ad as quickly as possible to your budget

Google’s recommended budget is calculated as follows:• Determining your total potential impressions• Comparing potential impressions with your recent performance and costs• Combining daily estimates• Tempering recommended amounts to allow for testing

BEST PRACTICE Keep your total account spend in mind when specifying your campaign

Remember your bidding amount when setting your budget

You may change your budget a max of 10 times a day

AD SITE QUALITY

Module 6.2

WHAT IS AD QUALITY? Google strives for relevance, in searches and ads (this makes the quality score so

important)

Quality Score is based on your keyword's click-through rate (CTR); the relevance of your ad text, keyword and landing page; and several other factors.

This is calculated for EVERY relevant search

Landing page quality is influenced by the usefulness and relevance of information provided on the page, ease of navigation, load time, how many links are on the page and more

Quality score is used in: influencing your keywords' cost per clicks (CPCs) determining whether a keyword is eligible to enter the ad auction that occurs when a user

enters a search query affecting how high your ad will be ranked estimating the first page bids that you see in your account

HOW QUALITY SCORE IS CALCULATEDGoogle Search Network

CTR

Account History

Ad group CTR

Relevance of keywords to ad

Account performance in region where ad would be shown

More

Display Network

Contextually targeted

CPC: The historical CTR of the ad on this

and similar sites The relevance of the ads and

keywords in the ad group to the site

The quality of your landing page

CPM: The quality of your landing page Placement targeted

LANDING PAGE QUALITY Influenced by:

Usefulness Relevance Ease of navigation Load time How many links and more

Each keyword receive a landing page relevance score

IMPROVING LANDING PAGE QUALITY

Relevance Transparency Navigation

How relevant is it to the user queryOriginality, feature unique contentDon’t link or redirect trafficContent of substance

Define what your business doesHonour dealsNo changing usual web behaviourNo software installsPolicy in handling user data

Easy flow pathsAvoid pop-ups etcLoads quickly

SITES WITH LOW SCORES Data collection sites

Sites designed to show ads

Malware sites

eBook sites

Get rich quick

Comparison shopping sites

Travel aggragators

MONITORING QUALITY SCORES This can fluctuate

Keyword analysis: Eligible Disapproved Paused/Deleted Low search volume Below first page bid Low Quality Score

You need to enable the quality score tab to view the analysis

15.1 ADWORDS VALUE PROPOSITION

Dir

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Ads distributed to those directly

interested in your product

Generate leadsROI focus

CPCAdWords

DiscounterSmart Pricing

Bra

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Builds awareness

Display network reachEvery stage of

purchasing decisionMessage testing

ADWORDS PROPOSITION

• Search query, Language & Location• Networks devices, placement targeting & exclusion tools

Targeting

• CPC• AdWords Discounter• Smart Pricing

Pricing options

• Changes allow 24/7• Account Snapshot | Keyword Report• Campaign Statistics | Ad Report• Conversion Tracking | Placement Report• Google Analytics | Search Term Report | Hourly Report

Reporting

Saves time buying ads & measuring success

15.2 SELLING ADWORDS

STEPS IN SECURING AN ADWORDS CLIENT Start with a clients need assessment

You can perform a needs analysis to determine a client's current online marketing involvement, learn about their company/organisation landscape, know who the decision makers are and uncover company weak points.

Points to consider: Review their website: Have a basic understanding of the advertiser's business. What is

their flagship product or service? Do some research: Are there articles about the business online? Are they already doing

online marketing? Are they in the organic search results? How competitive is the ad space? Learn to speak their language: What vertical are they in? What is their sales cycle? Are

there unfamiliar terms? Is there seasonality? What challenges might they face? Begin to plan: How might you build an AdWords account for this advertiser? What products

or services would you include in an initial marketing strategy? What products or services might you recommend for expansion?

STEPS IN SECURING AN ADWORDS CLIENT Aligning client needs with Goals and Opportunities

Typical problems: Limited time: Unable to effectively pursue new marketing strategies Lack of experience: Mistakes in online marketing campaigns Resource constraints: Cutting corners Not targeting audience effectively: Failure to generate revenue Inability to measure success: Sub-optimal use of marketing budget Limited marketing strategy: Missing out on customer segments Limited budget: Limited investment in future

INVALID CLICKS Manual clicks to increase your costs OR automated tools

Google has three powerful tools for protecting clicks on AdWords ads:

Detection and filtering techniques:Each click on an AdWords ad is examined by our system. Google looks at numerous data points for each click, including the IP address, the time of the click, any duplicate clicks and various other click patterns. Our system then analyses these factors to try to isolate and filter out potentially invalid clicks.

Advanced monitoring techniques:Google uses a number of unique and innovative techniques for managing invalid click activity. We can't disclose details about the software, except to say that we're constantly working to expand and improve our technology.

The Google Team In addition to our automated click protection techniques, we have a team that uses specialised tools and techniques to examine individual instances of invalid clicks. When our system detects potentially invalid clicks, a member of this team examines the affected account to glean important data about the source of the potentially invalid clicks.

EXPLAINING THE SEARCH AND DISPLAY NETWORKS The Google Network lets advertisers reach users across the Internet - from small newsletters to large search engines. Since

search results pages make up a very small fraction of all pages viewed online, the Google Network provides a cost-effective way to reach users on the greater portion of the web. The Google Network is split into the Search Network, which includes Google and other search sites like Ask.com, and the Display Network, which includes Gmail, newsletters and sites like the New York Times and HowStuffWorks.

In the Search Network, search targeting applies to keyword-targeted ads shown on Google search results pages and on other search sites. Ads shown on these pages appear alongside, above or below the search results and are specific to that particular search query. If the advertiser's keyword matches the user's search term, the advertiser's ad could appear.

The Display Network has the advantage of reaching potential customers at different points of the buying cycle. Not every potential customer is focused on conducting a search. Not every visitor is ready to buy at a given moment. The advertiser's challenge is to capture their attention at the right time.

For example, a user might begin a search for digital cameras with just an interest in reading reviews. However, while reading a review, that user might take note of online retailers' ads or click the ads themselves. With search-only advertising, this customer would have been missed.

With the Display Network, you can run ads in text and rich media ad formats. Image and video ads can be especially important in branding and marketing efforts. Google charges no additional fee to serve these ads. That's just another benefit of partnering with Google AdWords.

Here's one more benefit: If our data shows that a click from a Google Network page is less likely to turn into actionable business results - such as online sales, registrations, phone calls or newsletter sign-ups - we may automatically reduce the bid for that site. With no extra effort from you, Google technology helps you realise consistent value across Google and the Google Network.

15.3 MAINTAINING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

BEST PRACTICE Keep your client updated on progress often

Offer multiple metrics for success

Don’t share your login credentials

ESSENTIALS OF GOOGLE SEARCH II

Phrase searches: place phrases between quotation marks

Negative terms: since many words in English have more that one meaning, e.g. bat the animal, bat the baseball equipment, placing a negative sign in front of a term (–baseball) will help narrow your search for the animal

I’m Feeling Lucky: takes you to “the most relevant website … found for your query”

GOOGLE CHEAT SHEET All of the previous “advanced” operations and a lot more can be done from

Google.com if you know and use the Google Cheat Sheet For example: “+” before a word will find the word even if its automatically

excluded “~” before a word will find synonyms Two numbers separated by two periods will find results within a given range

MORE GOOGLES IAbove the general search box in Google are “top links”: Web – Images – Groups – News – Froogle – Local – more >>

Clicking on one of these will take you a specific Google page where you can search for pictures, groups of users, news stories, consumer goods, and local businesses

It can really get interesting if you click on “more >>”!

GOOD LUCK

Kantinath BanerjeeDigital marketing personnelwww.about.me/kantibanerjee9990270113