Adwords is the largest advertising platform in the world. It is owned and operated by Google, and allows you to place ads on their search engine as well as across their network.
Adwords uses an auction system where you pay a cost-per-click (CCO) bid to appear at the top or next to the top of a search result. The highest CCO bid wins the placement.
This system creates competition between advertisers looking to promote their business. This is why it is important to have a low CCO bid while still getting quality traffic to your site!
There are ways to win a higher ad position in the auction with a lower cost-per-click (CCO) bid, and this article will discuss some of those ways. These tips are useful for both beginner and experienced AdWords advertisers.
Set your target ad position
Once you’ve determined your target audience, it’s time to decide what position you want your ad in the ad column.
There are two key things to keep in mind when choosing your target ad position: competitor behavior and what kind of conversion you’re hoping for.
If most of your competitors are bidding high amounts per click, then choose a lower position or decrease your bid to avoid spending too much money on a less-converting click.
If you are advertising for an educational event and hoping for a lot of conversions, then pick a higher position so that people see your ad first!
Keep in mind that the higher the position, the higher the cost-per-click (CPC). Keep track of your budget by keeping the bid lower than most of the other advertisers.
Determine your target Cpc bid
Once you have an idea of your average cost per sale, you can determine your target Cpc bid. This is the minimum amount you are willing to pay per click on your ad.
For example, if your product sale price is $50 and you spend $10 on ads per sale, your target Cpc bid would be $5. You want to get paid for your ad spend, right?
By bidding this minimum amount, you have a higher chance of winning the ad auction, which puts your ad in front of consumers. This win rate depends on the competition at that given price point, however.
Keep in mind that if you bid lower than your target Cpc bid, then your campaign may not achieve your goal of earning enough revenue to be worth it. It all depends on how many other advertisers are competing with you at a given cost-per-click level.
Confirm that your ad meets all criteria for the target ad position
The ad qualification process can be tricky, especially because it changes frequently. Google Adwords adds new criteria and removes old fairly often.
For instance, for a while, ads in mobile searches could not include a call to action (CTA) but recently that changed. Now, all ads in mobile searches must include a CTA.
If you did not update your ad to include a CTA, it would not show! This is why it is important to keep checking the qualifications for each ad position you want to show in.
Does your ad have enough characters to meet the character minimum for the target ad position? Does it have enough words to meet the word minimum? Does it have a clear, recognizable picture or video? These are all questions you need to answer yes to confirm your ad meets the criteria.
Submit and monitor your ad
Once you’ve created your ad, you can either wait for it to be approved or you can start monitoring its performance as a draft.
If you choose to draft your ad, it will still be shown in the search results. Customers will be able to click on your ad and go to your website, but it won’t cost them anything. This is a great way to test whether your ad is clear and effective.
You can run a draft for up to seven days before you need to either approve the ad or stop the campaign. It’s always a good idea to check on the statistics after one day, however, because some customers may click on the ad during that time.
Once the campaign has ended, you can no longer make changes or switch back to drafting mode. You will have to either approve the ad or delete it.
Tweak your Cpc bid if needed
If you are already in the ad auction and have a lower Cpc bid than the position you want, you can increase your Cpc bid to win the higher position.
Google gives you the option to increase your Cpc bid up to a maximum price per click it will accept. This makes it more difficult for other advertisers with higher bids to outbid you.
However, if you have a lower Cpc bid and want to stay in that position, there is nothing you can do but raise your Cpc bid. You cannot possibly outbid someone who is willing to pay more per click.
Remember, your campaign goals may affect how much you want to spend on each click, but only up to a certain point.
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