by Andrew Redfern @ 8th July 2009 5:19 pm adSense

It’s fairly obvious that there is much more to pay per click (PPC) advertising than just grabbing a budget, setting up a keyword, writing an ad and setting it all live.

The basic steps to actually getting more for your money (or indeed getting anything at all) are numerous but worthwhile. Indepth keyword selection, copy writing & testing, landing page selection, setting the time you wish to show your ads it is all key to making sure your ads are visible to the right people. What many online advertisers fail to address is how to make sure your aren’t showing to the wrong people.

Google adWords is an excellent system, massively efficient, easy to use and with a huge reach. It is this reach that poses problems for people. It is amazing how many times we encounter adWords accounts that have been set up without due care and attention and just allowed to run with scant regard for exactly where the ads are appearing.

It is an easy just to get your campaign moving along and there is always extra ways to expand the campaign in order to get the most clicks (and therefore spend the most budget).

Although it is such an obvious thing too many times we find that a campaign’s keywords are all set to broad match. This however is just the first step to ensuring your budget is going on the right place.

The Google content network, ran via the adSense system, is a superb way to increase your exposure. It opens up your ads to literally thousands of extra sites and means potentially millions of extra impression. It is, however, an automated system. It will never be perfect and no matter how much effort Google put into their targetting systems it is always encumbant on the adWords user to monitor which sites their ads are appearing on.

There will always be sites that will not provide relevant clicks, every one of these clicks means one less click from a relevant source. Volume doesn’t always mean enquiries.

The other analysis tool that is generally underused is actually monitoring what terms people are actually typing into Google and it’s search partners to be matched to your adverts. Again Google is brilliant at doing this matching for you but unless you have each and every keyword set to exact match it is vital to continually monitor these queries. This can be done either by careful analysis of the in-built adWords reporting system or via your website monitoring software (for example Google Analytics). Whichever way you choose to do it it is vital exercise because only when you understand exactly what search terms make your ads appear can you begin to make sure that the wasteful, irrelevant terms won’t continue to take up any of your budget.

It’s too easy to see the conversions coming in and assuming your keywords are performing to their maximum. It’s only via constant attention and tweaking can you be sure your budget isn’t being wasted.

Would you like to know more about this subject? If so, contact Hit Search, SEO and Google adWords qualified PPC specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

Google Adwords PPC Campaigns - How To Write The Best Ads

by Andrew Redfern @ 29th June 2009 9:00 am adSense

We are all looking for the best ROI we can get from our PPC, but are we all aware of truly how important the ad copy is in our campaign? The header is the very first thing a users see’s, it’s your one second window in which to attract the eye and call a user to action by clicking through to your site.
1) Landing Page
As simple as it sounds, the larger a campaign gets the easier it is for this to get overlooked. The ad must land on a relevant landing page. If your advertising a 50% bed sale, make sure the landing page is the sale area. User’s want to see the deal in one click, don’t make them navigate. Ideally show the product, the price and have a clear call to action such as “buy now”.
2) Including phone numbers.
This is industry specific; if you are an emergency plumber then your number is a good idea. It means users can contact you easily, plus from a business point of view you don’t have to pay if they call but don’t click.  Many feel that the inclusion of a number will help a business as it provides a certain level of reassurance for customers, who can deal with a web company, person-to-person should they require. This can be very difficult to track sales though if users don’t follow a set goal- funnel.
3) The Message

Your header is your shop window. It needs to be as punchy and relevant as possible.
“Last minutes Deals” is not as good as “Amazon Cruise, £399 pp”, the more you shout about your product or service the better. But most crucially of all provide the user with the next step: “Click here to find out more!”,“Buy now here”.

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Google adWords gambling restrictions relaxed.

by Andrew Redfern @ 16th October 2008 4:31 pm adSense

Reports today indicate that Google is relaxing it’s UK ban on adWords campaigns for gambling sites. The restriction has been in place since June 2007.

The search giant has now changed it’s policy page to read “Google AdWords allows online gambling advertisements to target Great Britain (England, Scotland, or Wales) as long as the advertiser is registered with the Gambling Commission and provides a valid operating license number.

Advertisers based outside the UK and within the European Economic Area who wish to target online gambling ads to England, Scotland, or Wales must be licensed to advertise online gambling in their respective country.”

Hit Search’s director, Andrew Redfern who is responsible for the company’s PPC managment said “A more open market has to benefit advertisers and consumers alike. We understood and respected Google’s motivation for curbing gambling based products but we feel that reputable online betting and casino sites are now only focusing on responsible, ethical marketing so the relaxing of the restrictions is the right thing to do”

This move will open the door and allow major brands to re-establish a presense in the Sponsored Search listings. Perviously this brought in massive revenue to Google however worries about the US Government clamping down on gambling websites and people promoting them the market was suspended.

If online casinos and betting shops want to resume using adWords they simply have to set up an account and fill out some legal declarations. They can now advertise their sites as long as they are only targetting a UK audience.

Would you like to know more about this subject? If so, contact Hit Search, SEO and Google adWords qualified PPC specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

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Google unveils adSense for online gaming

by Andrew Redfern @ 8th October 2008 11:51 am adSense

Google has today unveiled an expansion of it’s adSense online advertising platform. In a press release issued today they say “as part of our ongoing efforts to develop new ways for publishers to earn revenue, Google announced today the availability of AdSense for Games”.

They go on to say that the new system will be capable of displaying video ads “based on intended placements”, as well as the more traditional text and banner ads based on the contextual targeting model (the ads will be matched to tags supplied by the game’s developers).

As with the rest of the adSense system the ad revenue will be split between Google and game developers or publishers.

The beta version of the system is available to select partners in the U.S. The system has a dedicated page on the adSense website.

Would you like to know more about Google adSense and online advertising? If so, contact Hit Search, SEO and Google adWords qualified PPC specialists, on 0845 643 9289. Remember, its a big world out there, make sure you become visible.

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1. Why Pay Per Click optimisation is just as important as your actual advertising budget
2. EU competition commision to look at Google/Yahoo pay per click deal
3. MSN Mobile launches advertising
4. How the US Election candidates are using pay per click advertising to target voters
5. Alibaba launches online advertising exchange
6. Google sued for in click fraud case
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