Hi All I am trying out an Adwords campaign and just looking for some advice. My search terms are based around my IT Support site so words like computer repair seem like the top terms. On looking at my reports there are some keywords that produce 0% CTR so is it better to ditch these? Also is it better to have loads of keywords or just a few? Info appreciated. Regards
Hi there! You have two options with low CTR terms; 1. Ditch them 2. Test different ad copy to see if you get clicks with a different message It's important that you don't just let them sit - keywords with low CTR means you'll wind up paying a much higher CPC. Google rewards good CTR by dropping the bid amount - think about it, they only get paid if there's a click, right? So they are going to be more likely to show good performers and not charge as much because they're confident they'll make money. As far as the keywords question goes, it relates to the answer I just gave as well - quantity is less important, quality is VERY important. Don't bid on keywords that are a long shot for your business, at least in the beginning - they won't do well, and you'll hurt yourself, as noted above. Keep it to highly relevant keyphrases, make sure you incorporate those keyphrases in your ads, and definitely make sure your landing pages speak to the messages and info that's featured in your ads. Does that help?
Hi There Yes its beginning to become "slightly" clearer. It seems that I am caught between low CPC keywords to save money and that are also relevant for my site. Is that correct? Regards
You got it - that's often the tougher part. The good thing is, if your CTR on the keywords you choose are good, you'll pay less per click. You'll want to check your "quality score" in your account. It will rate the keywords you've picked on a scale of 1 to 10. The closer you are to 10, the less your click will cost. (This is oversimplifying, but I think you get the idea.) Are you offering your services to a specific area? Geotargeting your ads to only run to a certain area can help reduce costs sometimes b/c there's less competition.
That 5/10 will cost you a higher click cost over time. Make sure you are speaking specifically to computer repair in your ads. Also, you may want to go into your settings and geotarget your ads to show only to searchers that live in the Glasgow area if you're not already doing so. If you do that, you can go after higher-searched and more general terms, but won't have so much competition.
Hi Again So should I target my local towns / cities then choose the higher / more searched keywords? Regards
If you were my client, yup, that's what I'd do. I'd also encourage you to run all three match types for the keywords you pick at the start: broad, exact, and phrase. You'll see a lot of difference in performance and pricing, so you can keep the match type that's working best for you and delete or pause the ones that aren't. That plus geotargeting will put you on a good path to begin.
Hi There So should I run broad, exact, and phrase as separate ads? Many thanks for your time on this. If you ever need any IT advice or malware removal then give me a shout! Regards
Hey, anytime! Keyword match type won't dictate the ads you run - your ad groups will. So group keywords together that you want to receive a certain ad. For instance, malware-removal keywords should be one group, so you can run an ad that speaks specifically to that service, and drive them to a landing page about your maleware removal service. You can run all three match types of the keyword in that one group. It doesn't affect the ad shown, but it affects what type of searches get your ads. DigitalPoint won't let me hyperlink yet, but if you search for "AdWords Match Types" on Google it does a decent job of explaining what each kind is.
Hi There So use Google Keyword Tool and do a search for computer repair on broad, phrase and exact and add them to my campaign? Plus geo set my campaign? Regards
Close Just do the keyword research on computer repair terms. Pick the ones you want to go with, and when you enter them into your campaign, put them in three times - specify one as broad, one as phrase, and one as exact. Does that make sense? I know it's a little involved, but it will help you in the long run. And yes, definitely geotarget since you only want potential clients from your specific area.
OK This may sound daft but Does the broad, exact and phrase have to be next to each other in the list? Regards
Hi Lanarkshire. I used the preview tool (google.com/adpreview) and saw your ad for your QS 5 keyword. I suggest you use a different ad for it. It also sounds like you provide software tools, not repairs, so to me, your ad is a bit ambiguous for the keyword. Also, you are not allowed to capitalize FREE like that. Your ad will be disapproved because of that eventually. Learn more about Adwords, download free Adwords FAQ report.
I suggest to change your ad to reflect more the keyword and what you do. If I was looking for computer repairs, your ad was not very attractive to me. I would not have clicked on it and I suspect many others would not either, despite your 7% click rate, which I suspect is for a small number of impressions. Your QS is a relative value of your CTR against what competitors are doing. In other words, your competitors have better CTR, probably much, much better.