As a traditional media agent, I believed that Radio and TV ads were the best way to generate leads. It wasn’t until I started handling digital campaigns for my clients that I really saw the true value in Google Adwords.
Don’t get me wrong I am still a strong believer in the traditional approach!
Now every medium/platform has its pros and cons, but Google Adwords is by far one of the best lead generators out there! I will warn you though… DO NOT just go get a Google account and try running it yourself. Why? Because you can spend $10,000+ dollars trying to get it right. There are many different factors to running a SUCCESSFUL Google Adwords campaign.
First – Keywords
Make sure that whoever builds Adwords campaigns clears their targeted keywords with you first. Carefully choose the keywords that make the most sense for your product or service. This can be a costly mistake! If you have keywords in your campaign that are not relevant to your landing page it can cost you money that is not generating you leads. Consistency is key!! The best campaigns consistently portray the same message throughout the consumers’ process.
Second – Landing Page
The landing page is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Think of your landing page as an employed sales rep. If you have a bad sales rep they are just sitting there costing you money and not generating revenue. Your landing page is the same concept. It is essential that your landing page is visually appealing and easy to read. A call-to-action is a must when creating a landing page, it creates an urgency to find out more or make a purchase that day. The other beautiful thing about a landing page is you can use it as a data capture for re-marketing proposes. Discuss with your consultant or campaign manager about what your objectives are for your campaign. For example, a company might be running a campaign to capture emails, and another might just want phone calls. You can tailor a landing page around your objectives to ensure maximum results.
Third – Campaign Optimization
Once your campaign is running it is essential that you monitor the result and make adjustments. Many companies think that you can pick the keywords and create a landing page and press go and everything works forever. That is simply not the case. A/B test in a great way to lower your CPC throughout your live campaigns. Instead of creating one ad and pressing go, create two and see which one performs the best. Then filter out negative keywords and shift dollars around to ensure the best ROI.