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My first AdWords experience: Complete failure

Discussion in 'Google AdWords' started by elfguy, Feb 5, 2012.

  1. #1
    I'm not new to Internet Marketing, I've been dabbling for months now, and I've done some successful Facebook campaigns, but this was the first time I tried an actual paid AdWords campaign, and I have to say it's a complete waste of time.

    I spent $140 on a 1 week campaign with the following ad:

    "Fast, high quality SEO articles on any subject for just $9."

    Linking to my new site: http://wordswheel.com

    The bid ended up being somewhat reasonable and I got over 300 clicks. From this traffic, I made 0 sales. All the sales I've done so far came from simple forum postings, personal contacts and such.

    Now maybe it's just me, but I would think someone who sees that line of text would know pretty clearly what site they were going to. It's not like it was a deceptive ad or anything. How is it that I got a 0% conversion rate with such an ad? Is ANYONE out there having any luck with AdWords, because I certainly won't be going back to this network again.
     
    elfguy, Feb 5, 2012 IP
  2. M8INTERNET

    M8INTERNET Member

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    #2
    Matching google Adwords to the right service is an art
    Simply setting up a single advert will have poor results, so I am not surprised you had a 0% conversion rate

    The costs can also be high depending on the choice of keywords, and very often this is where a novice can make great mistakes and overspend resulting in a very poor Return On Investment (ROI)
     
    M8INTERNET, Feb 6, 2012 IP
  3. blackout0826

    blackout0826 Active Member

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    #3
    Hey bro why didn't buy adwords vouchers for starters, first campaign is always frustrating
     
    blackout0826, Feb 6, 2012 IP
  4. Lucid Web Marketing

    Lucid Web Marketing Well-Known Member

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    #4
    It's not just the ad, it's the keywords. I manage accounts for a living and I can tell you that you are not alone. People assume it's easy but there's more that meets the eye. That's why most first timers fail. They don't do their research. They have no real idea in many cases of the keywords to use for their product or service, not to mention knowing of the different keyword types. That will kill you if you don't use the proper keywords. They also don't know how to attract their prospects with good ads. Not saying yours is necessarily bad but you did not test other ones. You have an opportunity here to test different things and you didn't take it.

    Finally, the landing page has to convert. Again, most do it themselves or hire a web designer to write their copy. Neither really knows how to sell. You suffer from the same thing. Your page gave me no reason to call you up. Therefore, visitors try to find another provider that seem to address their problem. Hire a good copywriter.
     
    Lucid Web Marketing, Feb 6, 2012 IP
  5. johncandy

    johncandy Peon

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    #5
    you r not failure be bold and do not disappoint and carry on
     
    johncandy, Feb 6, 2012 IP
  6. tim-buchalka

    tim-buchalka Active Member

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    #6
    ha ha, I remember vividly my first "weekend" with Google Adwords in 2007.

    Cost me $5K and made not one sale. I screwed up my budget, screwed up my landing page, and just about everything else.

    It was a hard lesson and a bitter pill to swallow but taught me a lot (not the least of which was to focus on SEO and not paid traffic).

    I think Google adwords more and more is moving towards the Enterprise customers and care little for the small time operators (less than $1M/year budgets).

    Sure they will take your money, but dont expect the best traffic or ad positions, etc.

    my $0.02c.
     
    tim-buchalka, Feb 6, 2012 IP
  7. M8INTERNET

    M8INTERNET Member

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    #7
    I also started using google AdWords in 2007
    I started off with a £25 voucher (about $40) and added £25 of my own funds
    I agree, the setup and first few adverts can be expensive if you do not fully understand
    I then received a further voucher for my use

    Personally there is little ROI, the increase in visitors and turnover is pretty much the same as the cost
    However I did notice that with google AdWords active the websites were ranked better within google searches
    The same pretty much still applies
    One of my clients google Account ran out of funds and the number of visits through google searches fell by over 75% (compared to prior to setup of google AdWords)
     
    M8INTERNET, Feb 7, 2012 IP
  8. retwedia

    retwedia Member

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    #8
    Going with a company that allows people to earn by displaying ads is always risky in my eyes.
    I personally find networking with other websites and purchasing advertising directly will come out to yield more results and usually is much cheaper.
    Why? Many sites do not get direct advertising requests, they like them.
    They can display your ad for an additional income without taking from or removing any paid ads.
    They can usually earn more for displaying your ad while charging you less as there is no middle man.
     
    retwedia, Feb 7, 2012 IP
  9. TwistyGut

    TwistyGut Peon

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    #9
    Failure doesn't mean END, its a new start with more experience more energy.
    Good Luck!
     
    TwistyGut, Feb 8, 2012 IP
  10. JBTWebmaster

    JBTWebmaster Peon

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    #10
    Considering that you only had one ad compaign, no sales isn't that suprising. You just have to learn from your mistakes and try to improve them the next time around. Either way, do NOT give up. Use this as a learning experience and better yourself because of it. Semper Fi. Carry on.
     
    JBTWebmaster, Feb 9, 2012 IP
  11. Lucid Web Marketing

    Lucid Web Marketing Well-Known Member

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    #11
    I remember my first time with Adwords too. That was almost ten years ago. I was totally clueless. Didn't lose $5k but realized I needed to learn and understand this new way of advertising my product if I'm going to take advantage of it. As mentioned, failure doesn't mean you should end. You need to determine why it failed and what you can do about fixing it.
     
    Lucid Web Marketing, Feb 10, 2012 IP
    JBTWebmaster likes this.
  12. Dating Port

    Dating Port Active Member

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    #12
    There are many reasons why you failed but take it as a learning experience.

    You need to test a few ads and track what they generate. Are they just creating a buzz and only attracting curiosity seekers? Or are they truly interested in your product? Try different wording in each ad to judge responses.

    Are you targeting the right keywords? Some will produce sheer volume but brings in the same curiosity browsers. Try more specific words or phrases....the traffic may be slower but those usually are the people that are actually looking for your service.

    For example, in my niche I can target adult dating as a key word (broad keyword) and with a reasonable bid on the network I use (not adwords - too expensive) I can blow through $500 in hours. Zero ROI
    But....if I target "hookup" or "xdating" (narrow keywords), the clicks drop but I get signups. Cost? maybe $100 a month. ROI? GREAT!!!! :cool:

    So don't be disheartened by the loss on your first foray into Adwords....learn from it and become a better marketer.

    I didn't touch on landing pages because that has so many variables directly related to whatever it is you're selling.
     
    Dating Port, Feb 11, 2012 IP
  13. Midrand

    Midrand Peon

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    #13
    The first time is definitely the most expensive learning curve. Always make sure that you separate your search network and display network into two separate campaigns. Also, always make sure that you have conversion tracking installed to see which keywords are making you money and which are costing you money. You should also use keywords that aren't too broad.
     
    Midrand, Feb 13, 2012 IP
  14. jess17snyder

    jess17snyder Peon

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    #14
    you can use a voucher to test the campaign, find profit ones, then use real money make real profit. google only ban people use voucher, but will not ban you if you use your own money, unless you promote a banned site.
     
    jess17snyder, Feb 21, 2012 IP
  15. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #15
    The failure to get conversions doesn't originate from a single problem (usually). I like your ad and the landing page is great too. Maybe it's just too broad keywords that drove the wrong traffic? Who knows. Hope it will be better next time around.
     
    qwikad.com, Mar 1, 2012 IP
  16. anderson381616

    anderson381616 Peon

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    #16
    this is amazing.
     
    anderson381616, Mar 2, 2012 IP
  17. pinakel

    pinakel Well-Known Member

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    #17
    if you give me give a chance i can do it but its costly.

    Negative Keywords Insertion at Ad Groups & Campaign Level

    - Campaigns Optimization to get best ROI (Optimization of keywords, ads, bids and other settings)
    - Conversion (Sales) Tracking Setup & Google Analytics Setup.
    - Daily Monitoring & Tracking (Conversion Tracking, Analytics etc..)
    - Competitor Analysis , Sales / Leads Tracking & Improvements.
    - Systematic Weekly / Monthly Reporting with all necessary metrics.
    - Applying all best practices to achieve highest conversion ratio.
     
    pinakel, Mar 2, 2012 IP
  18. icegin

    icegin Peon

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    #18
    ^ I agree. It's fine to experiment with Adwords if you have the budget (or coupon) to do so, but there are always plenty of other ways to drive traffic to your site.
     
    icegin, Mar 3, 2012 IP
  19. bdthanh

    bdthanh Peon

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    #19
    You should only use AdWords for business with large profit on each customer.
    Usually the CTR is not high, if the money you earned from each customer is low, the total amount you get will cost less than Adwords
     
    bdthanh, Mar 4, 2012 IP
  20. lonking

    lonking Peon

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    #20
    I am about to start my google adwords to promote my website too. Since i have never operated adwords before, i am nervous i would screw up. I will try to learn more before i start.
     
    lonking, Mar 5, 2012 IP