Romancing the click: 5 online dating rules that will improve your Google ads

This week’s blog post is by Australia’s own Qualified Google AdWords expert Melinda Samson, from Click-Winning Content.

You’ve probably heard of pay-per-click (PPC). AdWords is Google’s own PPC program for generating targeted web traffic. In a nutshell:

• An ad linked to your website is shown on page one of Google
• Your ad is only shown when people search on keywords (that you select) that are closely related to your product or service
• You only pay when someone clicks on your ad.

What you might not know is that running a Google AdWords campaign is a lot like online dating. You shouldn’t believe the hype and it might just change your life.

1.  You need to be clear about who you are trying to attract

If you’re not, you’ll attract the wrong people. You don’t want to waste your time and money dating the wrong people, just like you don’t want to waste your time and money getting clicks on your ads from the wrong people.

2.  You need to tweak your ad until you find the version that works the best 

In the online dating world, what you write in your profile has a huge impact on who tries to connect with you. Similarly, with Google AdWords, your ad copy has a huge impact on how many clicks you get and how well targeted they are.

AdWords allows you to run more than one version of your ad at the same time.  Over time the ad that gets clicked on the most will be shown the most. Keep updating your ad until you find the ultimate high performing version.

3. If you want to take the relationship forward, make a great first impression

Generally, for a first date, your aim is to look your best and make a great impression (unless of course the date is a dud but that’s an article on someone else’s website 😉 ). In a similar way, when someone clicks on your ad, you want to make a great impression and show your web visitors that they have found what they’re looking for. Do this by directing your ads to a relevant, well-planned landing page that motivates your visitors to respond to your call to action.

The web world moves fast. If you don’t have a great landing page it’s far too easy for your visitors to click the back button and move on to the next website.

4. The fattest wallets don’t always win the race

For a first date, some people might plan a flashy dinner at an expensive restaurant.  Splashing money around will impress some people, but it won’t impress everyone. With AdWords, a lot of people think that having a successful campaign means having their ad showing in one of the highest positions.  Although this is a great strategy for maintaining high-quality ads, in order to maintain a high position, you need to be prepared to pay more than the other advertisers.

In order to stretch your budget further, try bidding the right amount to have your ad shown in a lower position (around 3 to 5).  Ideally, you’ll still get enough targeted clicks to use up your budget each day, but you’ll pay less per click so you’ll get more clicks for your cash.

5. Don’t give up until you find your perfect match

Google AdWords success means different things to different advertisers. Sometimes an ad campaign gets results right from the start, but in other situations, you need to be persistent and keep experimenting in order to figure out what works.

Have you tried AdWords before? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below. Melinda might just be able to get you back on track!