In 2004 when I first started using Google AdWords, I thought the goal of AdWords was to get as many clicks as possible. The belief was that the clicks would turn into a flood of clients. What I quickly learned was that you can generate a lot of clicks, but clicks don’t necessarily translate into even a trickle of clients.
What Was the Disconnect?
The disconnect was the lack of a well aligned marketing message that used appropriate keywords to funnel targeted clients to the business. The most common result of this disconnect is using your pay per click budget to attract only information seekers. For example, if you are reading this post, you may be interested in information on funneling more clients to your business, but not necessarily interested in hiring a pay per click management company. Using your marketing budget to pay for too many information seekers and not enough potential clients is a recipe for business failure.
How Can You Hit Your Target?
You need complete alignment. An example would be a pay per click management company using the following components in their AdWords campaign:
- Keyword Phrase: Pay Per Click Management
- Ad: Pay Per Click Management – Pay Per Click Management For a Continuous Stream of Business. www.eversignal. com/pay-per-click-management
- Landing Page: Discusses pay per click management and attracting a continuous stream of business.
Notice the repetition of the keyword phrase “pay per click management.” This is a simple example of aligning your marketing message and targeting clients through keywords, ads, and landing pages. It also serves to exclude people who may click through but are only information seekers or a poor match for your services. For our company, EverSignal, we would take it one step further to align and target the message to pay per click management professionals and small to medium size professional service companies.
Where to Start?
Make sure your web site is setup to measure your click-through-rate (CTR), conversions, and other metrics, so you can measure the effect of your decisions. Then begin using keyword research. Use the Google AdWords keyword tool that comes with your account. Determine what general category your service fits into, such as “pay per click,” and then refine the keyword down until you have narrower keyword phrases such as “pay per click management,” which match the service you provide. Next, continue to work on creating tightly aligned marketing messages for your target clients and use negative keywords to exclude clicks on unrelated searches. In no time you will be funneling more targeted clients to your business and maximizing your AdWords budget.
