wishpond EBOOK

The Ultimate Guide:

Google
AdWords

for Small Business

wishpond.com


wishpond EBOOK

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Introduction to Google AdWords: Why Does My Small Business Need Them?. . ............................. 4

Chapter 2
Glossary of Terms You Need to Know........... . . ................................................................................... 17

Chapter 3
How to Plan a Successful Google AdWords Campaign in 10 Questions. . ...................................... 26

Chapter 4
The Anatomy of a Google AdWords Campaign [With A Secret Tip to Make it Simple]................. 34

Chapter 5
How Do I Choose Keywords for My Small Business Google AdWords Campaigns? .. .................. 54

Chapter 6

How to Write Google PPC Ad Copy that Converts: 12 Ways to Succeed....................................... 64

Chapter 7
How to Create Landing Page/ Google AdWord Combos That Convert: 21 Tips. . .......................... 72

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Chapter 8
How to Strategize Budgeting and Bidding in Google AdWords..................................................... 83

Chapter 9
The Practical Science of A/B Testing your AdWords....................................................................... 90

Chapter 10
How to Measure ROI and KPI’s............................................................................................................ 101

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Chapter 1

Introduction
to Google
AdWords:
Why Does My Small
Business Need

Them?


Online marketing and Google AdWords. The two go hand in hand.

When a customer is looking for a product, service, promotion, or anything from anywhere in the world, they’re likely going
to search for it on Google. That customer is looking for you.
If you’re in business these day, you’re marketing online. It’s the way to reach your customer, drive traffic to your store, and
ultimately increase sales.
For a small business, AdWords can be a hugely successful method of driving traffic, marketing your product and ultimately
getting increased sales.
Is your business doing it, yet?

Here’s the top 12 reasons why your business can benefit from AdWords.


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1. Reach Your Customer When They Want Your Stuff
Any business, regardless of size, wants to be found on the first page of Google. As a small business, you’re competing with
experienced, motivated SEO experts to get those coveted organic top ten search results.

With Google AdWords you have an edge in getting your message viewed by your market, exactly when they’re searching
for your specific product, service or offers.

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2. Reach Your Local Customer


Here’s an example of radius targeting around the “Statue of
Liberty”, excluding the 229,000 reach of New Jersey.

AdWords gives you location targeting options. So, if
you’re a locally based business, (such as a neighborhood
restaurant), a regional company (such as a state bank),
or even an e-commerce site (with, say, country shipping
restrictions), you can geo-target to get seen by your
consumer - and you’re not wasting ad dollars on those
who aren’t.

You can target by geo-based demographics, such as
income level. So, if you’re selling luxury goods, for
example, you can target the top 10% income earners in
your specified area.
AdWords enables you to easily target countries, areas
within a country, and radius targeting (to show your ads
to people within a certain distance to your business).
You can exclude locations, too, even in your proximity
targeting.
Excluding locations brings your ROI up, by lowering costs
and targeting more precisely.

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3. Show your Location
By using Google Places, in conjunction with AdWords, you can show a map of your bricks and mortar shop with your ads.


The easier you make it for customers to find you, the more likely they’ll walk in, or click through to your website.
4. Show Your Contact Information
You’ve probably seen these on a few ads: ad extensions.
Ad extensions let businesses enhance ads with phone numbers, an address, app downloads, site landing page links,
reviews, previous page visits and lots more. They generally show up in blue, just below your ad description.
By including more contact information in your ads, you make it way easier for your potential customer to connect with you.

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Ad extensions don’t cost anything more to include in
your ad. But you are still charged for clicks on your ad
and other interactions with your extensions. For example,
if someone clicks on your phone number to call you
directly from your ad extension, you’ll be billed for this
paid conversion. (Yup, Google can track clicked phone
calls on mobile, tablets and desktops.)
If you’re a restaurant, for example, you can show your
local address, and include links to specific menu pages,
offers and other specific landing pages on your website.
Here’s how a coffee chain uses them:

Tim Hortons adds their nearest address. They link to
their “nutrition” “coffee” “Tim Card offers” and “location”
pages on their website, so people can click directly
through for more information.

5. Highly Targeted Searches
Keywords, keywords, keywords. This is what Google

AdWords is known for.
As a small business, use the right keywords, that are
optimized for high quality scores, and target your
customers, products, offers, location and more.
The more targeted your keywords (and keyword phrases)
are, the better Google will rank your ad. You’ll also reach
a lot more consumers, who want exactly what you have
right now.
If you’re using Google AdWords directly, be sure to
research through suggested keywords for every ad
group you create. Some Google ad providers, like
Wishpond, offer to do the hard work for you - by choosing
the most optimized, targeted keywords for your ad group
campaigns.

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Here’s an example of suggested keywords from an online shoe store ad:

Use the opportunity to think like your customer, and choose words they’re searching for. You can set up different keywords
for each of your ad group campaigns, too. And, you can change your words at any time to keep optimizing your reach.
6. Follow Your Customer with Retargeting
You’ve seen it, I’m sure. You visit a site, stay on it for a while, and then leave. But then you keep seeing ads for the
company, or even the product page you were on. That’s retargeting.
With Google Adwords, if an interested customer has visited your website, they get a cookie from a code you’ve put on the
backend of your site. When they leave your site, you can target your ads to follow them on the Google Display Networks, or
Google search.


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You pay extra for it, but it can really work to increase sales. Think about it - those people were interested enough to come
visit your site. You can get seen by them again - and then again and again - while you’re still on their mind.
For example, say you have a baby products store. An interested parent-to-be clicked on your ad, and visited your landing
page for strollers. They picked up your Google AdWords cookie. When they visit, say, a popular parent blog site (who are
part of the Google Display Network), they can see your ad for strollers again. And so on.
It is a more advanced marketing tactic from Google. You can also retarget with software like Adroll, or Google ads with
integrated retargeting software - like Wishpond.

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7. Reach Your Mobile Customer - Where They
Are
Your customer might be right outside your door, when
they’re searching for your products or service.
Google AdWords gives you loads of mobile optimization
options. You can target both text ads and image ads.
So, for example, if you market for a local coffee shop,
mobile ads are a perfect fit. Your customer might be
looking for their caffeine fix, while they are walking
through your neighborhood. They search for places
nearby. Your mobile optimized ad shows up first. You get
a new customer in your door.


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In your campaign Settings, you can leave your Devices on
the default of “All”. This targets all types of devices. If you
want to target more heavily on mobile users, you have
this option too. Here’s a screenshot of the device choices
you have if you want to show your ad more on mobile
devices:

8. Choose Where your Ad is Seen
Google has tons and tons of ad partners. You’ve probably
read a blog in your niche, and they have ads. More than
likely, they are part of the Google Display network.

I’d suggest that if you’re just starting out on Google
AdWords, you use the Search and Display option - you
get a broader reach. As you get used to how AdWords
work, and you’re seeing an increased result in your click
throughs, then narrow an ad campaign to the Display
Network only. Monitor your results, and improve your ads
as you go.
9. Get Measured Results

What does that mean for you? Well, it makes it easy for
you to advertise on popular niche blogs - where your
customers are.


Hey, you’re getting the power behind Google Analytics
to track your results.

You can track your results and even exclude sites that
aren’t performing as well as you’d like.

Google AdWords gives you tons of customizable options
to track and measure all of your campaigns, in one
dashboard.

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You can, for example, set and track your own goals for:
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Traffic to your Website
• Brand Awareness
• Sales and Conversions
You can also measure the results of each of your ads within your ad groups. You get find out metrics like:
• What keywords are performing the best
• What headlines get the best click-through rate
• The times your ads are best performing
• And so on and so on

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You can connect your website Google Analytics too.

Yeah, you get great metrics from Google. And, you can
make your results reports as simple or or complex as
you want. So, for people who don’t want to spend all day
sorting through ad data - that’s ok too!
10. Control Your Own Budget
If you’re a small, local business, you may be more familiar
with offline advertising methods. If so, you’re likely paying
a set fee for each ad you publish or run. And, you’ve likely
used to signing a contract too, to run x number of ads for
x amount of money.
With Google AdWords, you can set your budget for each
ad you run - and you can change it whenever you want.
If an ad is performing really well, you can increase your
results by increasing your ad spend.

Note: Your daily cost is based on a daily average per
month, so don’t be alarmed if yours varies from day to
day.
I’d recommend starting out with a budget of $20-40 per
day. When your ad is live, track it to measure your results.
Adjust your budget based on your ads’ ROI - or whatever
your particular objectives are for your campaign.
11. Run Multiple Campaigns for Your
Marketing Needs
A really cool thing about Google Ads is that your can run
a whole bunch of different ad campaigns, for a whole
bunch of your marketing objectives.
Let’s say you have an event planning business. You want
to market your services for:
• Wedding planning


You get to set your daily budget, which is what you’re
willing to spend per day per ad.

• Corporate events
• Fundraisers
You could set up 3 different marketing campaigns - one
for each of your targeted services.

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You can then set up multiple ad groups for each
campaign. In your ad groups, you can target with different
keywords.
For example, in your “Wedding planning” campaign, setup 3 ad groups to target:
• Wedding dresses - and related keywords
• Honeymoon destinations - and related keywords
• Pre-nuptial lawyers - and related keywords

Convinced yet? Google AdWords needs to be a part of
your online marketing plan.
In the next chapter, we’ll take a look at terms you need to
know - so you can sound like a Google advertising wiz.

Then you can make 2 ads for each ad group, so that you
can A/B test to find which ad performs best.
Okay, this may seem a bit complicated at first. But, once
you get the hang of it, it’s actually quite cool and it gets

you results.
12. Continuously Improve Your Results
Unlike any offline advertising you’re doing, it’s very
simple to monitor your real ROI on Google AdWords. It’s
also pretty simple to tweak your ad copy to get better
results, and improve your profits.

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Chapter 2
Glossary of

Terms You
Need to
Know


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The vernacular of Google advertising can be pretty daunting.
If you’re like most small business marketers, you’ve got a lot of stuff on your to-do list - and figuring out this maze of PPC,
CTR and Impressions doesn’t rank high on your priorities.
But you know you need to get your message to your market where they are - online.
Here’s 25 Google AdWords terms you need to know, to get you started and increase your conversion rates with your paid
campaigns.

Setting Up Google AdWords Terms
1. Campaign - An ad campaign on Google AdWords is

made up of your ad groups, and has the same budget,
campaign type and your other ad settings. It’s generally
what you first set-up when you advertize, and it helps
you organize your different paid advertising efforts. You
can run multiple campaigns at any time from your Google
account.

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2. Ad groups - An ad group is your set of keywords, budgets and targeting methods for a particular objective, within the
same campaign. For example, if you are running an ad campaign for a shoe sale, you could set up ad groups to target for
online sales, women’s shoes and men’s shoes. You can have multiple ads in each ad group.
3. Campaign Type - Your campaign type is where you want your ads to be seen. Google has:
• “Search Network only” (which means Google search only)
• “Display Network only” (which means your ad shows up in Google’s Display network of websites, videos, YouTube,
Blogger and more. This is also known as AdSense)
• “Search Network with Display Select” (which is a combo of search and display)
If you have a Google Merchant Center account and want to use Product Listing Ads, you can also choose “Shopping” as a
campaign type.
4. Keywords - Keywords are very important in your Google Ads. They are the words or word phrases you choose for
your ads, and will help to determine where and when your ad will appear. When choosing your keywords, think like your
customer and what they would be searching for when they want your product, service or offer. Though you can include as
many as you like, I suggest a maximum of twenty keywords.

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Here’s Google’s explanation on how to build the best keyword list:

5. Quality Score - A quality score is the measurement from Google based on the relevancy of your ad headline,
description, keywords and destination URL to your potential customer seeing your ad. A higher Quality Score can get you
better ad placement and lower costs.

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6. Impressions - An impression is the measurement of how many times your ad is shown.
7. Ad Rank - Your Ad Rank is the value that’s used to determine where your ad shows up on a page. It’s based on your
Quality Score and your bid amount.
8. Mobile ad - Mobile ads are what your mobile searchers see on their devices. Google AdWords has WAP mobile ads and
“ads for high-end mobile devices”.

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9. Ad extensions - Ad extensions are extra information about your business, such as your local address, phone number,
and even coupons or additional websites. They’re what shows up in blue below your ad descriptions.

General Ad Related Terms
10. Call to Action (CTA) - A CTA is literally the action you want your searcher to take. Good CTAs in your ads are short,
action oriented words such as “Buy”, “Get”, “Act Now”, etc.
11. Click Through Rate (CTR) - Your CTR is an important metric in your account settings. It measures how many people who
have seen your ad click through to your link destination.
12. Landing Page - Your landing page is the page on your website to which you’re driving traffic from your ad.
13. Optimization - Optimization in Google AdWords is like optimization elsewhere in marketing. It means making the

changes in your ad that get you higher results for your objectives.
14. Split Testing - Split testing includes A/B and multivariate testing. It’s a method of controlled marketing experiments with
the goal being to improve your objective results (such as higher CTR’s, increased conversion or even better Ad Ranking).

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Cost Related Terms
15. Bid Strategy - Your bid strategy is basically how you set your bid type to pay for viewer interaction with your ads.

16. Daily budget - Your daily budget is what you’re willing to spend per day per ad. Your daily cost is based on a daily
average per month, so don’t be alarmed if yours varies from day to day.
17. CPC - Cost-Per-Click is the most common bid type on Google AdWords. It means you pay every time a person actually
clicks on your ad. You set your “maximum CPC” in the bidding process, which means that dollar amount is the most you’ll
pay for a click on your ad.
18. PPC - Pay-Per-Click is the same as CPC.
19. CPM - Cost-Per-thousand impressions is a bidding method that bases your costs on how many times your ads are
shown (impressions).
20. Billing Threshold - Your billing threshold is the level of spending that triggers a charge to you for the ad costs. It applies
to automatic payments, and the threshold level starts at $50. It you reach that within 30 days, you’ll be billed, and your
threshold then raises to $100 and so on.
Learn more about Google AdWords billing.

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Ad Creative Terms
21. Headline - Your ad headline is the header of your ad copy. It generally shows up in blue when your ad is live.


22. Destination URL - Your destination URL is the landing page your ad is directed to when it’s clicked. Your destination
site can be a specific page. You can change it for differing ads within ad groups. Your audience does not see it in the ad.

23. Display URL - Your display URL is what shows up in your ad copy. You can keep this simple and clean to increase your
brand recognition, trust, and conversions.

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24. Side ad - A side ad is the ad that show up on the right hand side of a search engine results page (SERP).

25. Top ad - A top ad is the ad that shows up in a shaded box above the organic search results. Note: Your ad will likely
show up as both a side ad and a top ad - so write your ad copy to optimize for both.

There you have it - all the basic terms you need to get started with Google AdWords. You can talk like a pro! It wasn’t
that hard, right?
Read on for tips on how to plan your next PPC Campaign and Ad Group.

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