NetEqualizer News Blog

Here are some basic do’s and don’ts regarding using Google Adwords that we’ve learned through experience. Follow these and you’ll save time and money. We assume that you have run a Google Ad campaign and are familiar with the basic terms.

• Do use search words and search engine advertising. These clicks are worth it if you want to spend your click-money wisely.
• Don’t use content ads, or, if you do, use them with extreme caution. We have deduced through much anecdotal evidence that our content ads were often fraudulently abused through scams that Google was unable to detect. In the last six months or so they seem to have this under control, but in general content ad clicks are not worth it. Too many bored people clicking them with no intention to buy anything.
• Do use the time of day feature. If you have a commercial product for business, don’t run it on weekends. You will get less qualified and more confused buyers. Obviously, if you are targeting home consumers, weekends may be your best bet.
• Don’t try to be first or even second on the page. Set your budget and try to get the cheapest clicks possible. For example if you are selling “spy vision glasses” and you budget $80 per day, you want to barely reach your target each day. For two reasons.
  • 1) Potential customers that find you on the second page are very seriously searching for a product and are likely to buy. If you can hit your target budget with clicks on the second (less expensive) page your value per click will be much higher.
  • 2) Being the first product displayed will cost you much more per click and will most most likely bring you an early browser rather than somebody ready to buy.
• Do make sure you have some motivation on your home page to entice people to tell you who they are. This could be a prize giveaway or a white paper — basically just something of value for which they will register or provide contact information.
• Don’t hide your price. If your product costs $200 and customers are expecting something for $50, you are not going to upsell them. These clicks to unqualified customers will cost you both time and money.
• Do run multiple ads and route them to specific pages. We call this follow through. Your google ad has very limited word space so, when clicking, the customer should see a follow through on the ad they just clicked. For example, if your product ad says “bumper stickers for baseball fans” don’t send them to your home page if it features 100 other different products. Send them to something specific regarding baseball bumper stickers.

Obviously these tips aren’t foolproof, but we hope they will make the Google Adwords process both easier and more productive.