Google AdWords is the biggest pay-per-click platform in the world. It made Google's founders billionaires. It has also made significant money for those who use it -- or at least, those who have used it properly. This multi-part guide can help you make the most of AdWords.
AdWords, just like SEO, is a way to buy traffic, but with AdWords you pay directly to Google, while with SEO you spend money with a search engine optimization company. If you choose to use AdWords this guide is for you.
Why should you use Google AdWords over all other pay per click platforms?
AdWords is extremely easy to set up. You can have your campaign up and running in 5 - 10 minutes.
The majority of people use Google, but most importantly, tech savvy people who are comfortable with buying online prefer Google over all other search engines.
Google rewards good advertisements with less cost per click and good positions on search results. An ad with a high click-through rate (CTR) always gets benefits from Google. The search engine wants to show the most relevant ads to users.
Google lets you target customers by their geographic locations such as zip codes, countries, cities or custom areas on the map. This ensures that you only get customers who can do business in your area of operation.
Many search marketing professionals will tell you that Google AdWords is the only PPC platform worth putting money into, since it reaches the highest number of users and delivers the highest conversion rate.
Pay Per Click Terms
You have to know basic pay-per-click terms to understand the jargon.
CPC - Cost Per Click. This is money you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Costs per click are driven by bids.
CTR - Click Through Rate. This is the relationship between the number of impressions and clicks on the ads. For example, if Google showed an ad 100 times, and 20 people clicked on it, then the Click Through Rate (CTR) is 20%. High click through rates are rewarded by Google with high Quality Scores.
Quality Score - This is an internal algorithm that assigns value to advertisements. Ads with high quality scores can hold higher positions while paying less than the competition.
CPM - Cost per 1000 impression of an ad. This measurement is mostly used for banner ads.
ROI - Return on Investment. If you invested $1000 and got back $3000, then your ROI is 200%.
CR - Conversion Rate. This is the percentage of visitors who become customers. For example, if 100 people clicked on the ad and four became customers, then your conversion rate is 5%. Average Internet conversion rates are 2%- 3% and 7% is considered quite a high number.