Once inside, you’ll need to define the objective of your campaign. Whether your goal is to drive sales, generate leads, or boost website traffic, different campaign types like search, display, or YouTube ads can help achieve these targets. Choosing the right type is crucial to reaching your audience effectively.
Key Takeaways
- Google AdWords offers full control over your ad campaigns.
- Setting campaign objectives is essential for targeting the right audience.
- Multiple campaign types are available to meet diverse advertising needs.
Picking the Perfect AdWords Choice
AdWords vs. AdWords Express
There are two main options for setting up AdWords. The first option is to use Google AdWords itself. This gives you full control over your advertising campaigns. You can adjust, tweak, and manage everything from the left-hand side of the dashboard. This option allows deeper and more precise control over your ad placements, bids, and targeting.
The second option is AdWords Express. While this is quicker to set up, it offers much less control. Google automates many of the features, which can be convenient, but it might not always work in your favour. AdWords Express is designed to be a more straightforward, automated solution, but it might cost you more due to a lack of manual adjustments.
Google AdWords Editor
Another helpful tool is the Google AdWords Editor. This free desktop application allows you to work on your campaigns without needing to be online. You can create or modify your campaigns and add headlines, descriptions, URLs, etc. Once you can reaccess the internet, you can upload all your changes.
The AdWords Editor can be handy if you’re often travelling or in areas with limited internet access. I prefer to make changes live directly through AdWords, but having an offline option is a great advantage.
Starting a New Campaign
Campaign Objective
I determine the campaign objective when setting up a new campaign in Google AdWords. This step is crucial, as it shapes the entire campaign strategy. The goal must be specific and clear, whether it’s driving sales, generating leads, or increasing website traffic.
Sales, Leads, and Website Traffic
For many campaigns, the primary focus is often on sales, leads, or website traffic. These objectives help bring exemplary visitors to my website. Sales and leads involve users purchasing or filling out contact forms. On the other hand, traffic campaigns aim to get users to explore more about what I offer.
Brand Awareness and Reach
I might choose brand awareness and reach if I want to get people familiar with my brand or encourage store visits. This can be achieved through display ads or YouTube ads. These campaigns are great for letting people know about my business and expanding my reach.
Setting Campaign Goals
My campaign goals can include multiple targets, such as phone calls, form submissions, or page visits. These goals help track how well the campaign is performing. For example, depending on what works best for my business, I might aim to get a certain number of phone calls or completed forms. This way, I can measure success more accurately.
Types of Google AdWords Campaigns
Search Campaigns
In search campaigns, my ads appear on Google’s search results pages. They target keywords that potential customers are likely to search for, placing my ads in either the top four spots or at the bottom of the search results.
Performance Max Campaigns
Performance Max campaigns take advantage of all of Google’s ad spaces with a single campaign. They cover everything from search and display to YouTube, Discover, Gmail, and Maps, helping to reach a broad audience across Google’s platforms.
Display Campaigns
Display campaigns show my ads across a network of over 3 million websites. These ads often appear as banners or images. For example, they could show up on news sites like the Daily Record, allowing me to reach users while they browse their favourite sites.
Google Shopping Ads
Google Shopping ads are tailored for businesses selling products. These ads appear in the shopping section of Google search results and feature product images, prices, and details. They can also appear in the sponsored products section on the right-hand side of the search results page.
Video and YouTube Ads
Video and YouTube ads are a great way to reach people on YouTube. These ads can also appear on other Google properties like Gmail and Discover, helping me target users with engaging video content.
Targeting Options
Website Visits
When driving traffic to your website, selecting the right campaign objectives is essential. I usually select sales, leads, or website traffic for this approach. Once chosen, multiple goals can be set, such as encouraging online sales or increasing brand awareness. The setup lets you track how effectively the ads drive visitors to your site.
Phone Calls
Phone calls are another way to measure the success of your campaigns. By setting phone calls as a campaign goal, you can track the number of calls generated through the ads. This method is helpful if you prefer direct customer interaction or run a business where phone enquiries are critical.
Lead Form Submissions
Lead forms can also be a significant part of a campaign. Choosing lead form submissions as a goal allows for capturing contact information from potential customers. This is beneficial for generating leads, which you can then follow up with personalised offers or information to convert into actual customers.
Campaign Set-up Detail
Focusing on Conversions
When setting up a campaign, I always prioritise conversions. This option ensures that the campaign aims to get users to take specific actions, like signing up, purchasing, or filling out a contact form. It’s crucial to specify what you want to focus on to ensure the effectiveness of your advertising efforts.
Target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The target CPA is the amount you will pay to acquire a customer. It’s essential to know how much each client costs you. For instance, if you expect a client to cost around £10 to obtain, you have to factor that into your budget. Adjust this depending on your product’s price and profit margin. Set a realistic CPA to make the campaign cost-effective.
Attracting New Customers
There is an option to bid for new customers only in the bidding options. I don’t tick this box because I want to target new visitors and those who have previously visited my site. Reaching out to returning visitors is beneficial, as they might convert this time.
Network and Ad Placement Choices
You can set your ads to appear on both the Search Network and the Display Network. The Search Network includes Google search results, while the Display Network includes various websites. I typically choose both networks to maximise reach. The unused search budget might be used in display ads, enhancing overall campaign performance.
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