This single mistake destroys conversion chances and ruins what could be a very good ad.

If you have an ad that is getting a good click through rate but a very poor conversion rate then it’s quite likely you are making [...]]]> There is one mistake that I see advertisers make time and time again with PPC advertising.

This single mistake destroys conversion chances and ruins what could be a very good ad.

If you have an ad that is getting a good click through rate but a very poor conversion rate then it’s quite likely you are making this mistake yourself.

So what am I talking about?

The biggest mistake I am referring to is not delivering on the promise made in the ad.

If you are writing your ads correctly they will be written to suggest to the would be clicker that if they have the answers to what the searcher is looking for. All they have to do is click on the ad and their answer will be given.

It’s a powerful way to write an ad and they usually attract high click through rates.

For example, if the search phrase being typed is back pain then an ad written like this is very powerful.

Do you have Back Pain?
Be free of it in minutes
3 Simple Exercises to end pain
www.backpainrelief.com

Now anyone clicking on this ad is expecting to go to a web page that immediately shows them those simple exercises (or shows them how to get them if you are using this technique as lead generation).

What I see time and time again is these type of ads going to the home page or going to a page that talks about lots of other things as well as the exercises.

What the webpage needs to do is instant reassure the clicker that they have arrived at the right place. One of the most powerful ways to do that is to play back the promise in the ad as the heading of the page. So in our example above, I would have a very bold heading on the page that said something like “Here are 3 Simple Exercises to End your Back Pain”.

With this type of heading you directly communicate that this is the webpage with the exercises you were promised.

Even better if you reinforce the message in the first paragraph. Something like “You’ve come to the right place if you are looking for relief from your back pain. On this page you will learn three simple exercises that can rid you of your back pain”.

With this kind of start to your webpage you will almost certainly convince your visitor to stay longer and listen to what you have to say about those exercises.

You might think everything I just said was obvious but I challenge you to look at each of your ads and see if the landing page they are sending traffic to is answering the promise made in the ad. You might be surprised!

This one is aimed at Small Businesses which seems an interesting move.

There reason I find this interesting is that Google has been criticised for forgetting the little guy and focusing more on the big corporate giants. The [...]]]> Google doesn’t do anything without good reason and so I was very interested when they launched their latest blog.

This one is aimed at Small Businesses which seems an interesting move.

There reason I find this interesting is that Google has been criticised for forgetting the little guy and focusing more on the big corporate giants. The claim is that the spend from the few huge corporations using Google Adwords dwarfs what small business spend and that Google were applying the 80/20 rule to who was getting their attention. In fact probably more like 95/5 but who’s counting.

So this new blog seems to buck that trend.

My feeling is that it reinforces my belief that small businesses are going to become a huge part of the economy as we climb out of this recession. They are going to be the big spenders in advertising as they grow with the new economy. I think Google knows that and it is keen to get in early to build a good relationship with the small business community.

Of course. I may just be wearing rose tinted glasses!

This blog could just be a cynical attempt by Google to deflect criticism that they aren’t doing enough for the little guy.

Either way, I know I am right that it is small businesses like yours and mine that will bring us out of recessions. I won’t be the government and it certainly won’t be the banks.

You can find Google’s new Small Business blog at:

http://googlesmb.blogspot.com/

To be honest I tried it a few times early on and I felt that it was just a cosmetic look & feel upgrade.

I still feel that [...]]]> Okay I’ll admit it. I’m a creature of habit and I’ve been slow to embrace the new keyword tool for Adwords whilst its been going through its beta trials.

To be honest I tried it a few times early on and I felt that it was just a cosmetic look & feel upgrade.

I still feel that way about it although they do seem to have added some nice touches in the recent release. Maybe they have also seen that the adoption rate of the new tool has been slow. Or maybe I’m just one of the dinosaurs

Well I can’t ignore it anymore as they are removing my old faithful keyword tool at the end of August so I was forced to take a longer look at the new kid on the block.

Actually it does have some nice features.

The filtering aspects once you have run  keyword search is good. It allows you to start to formulate groupings of keywords. A first step towards more closely targeted keyword themed adgroups.

Also there is a nod to the future as they have included the ability to split of statistics for mobile devices. It will be very interesting to see how these numbers climb in the next few years (or maybe months).

One item I’m not convinced about is the “improved” feature that allows you to quickly add negative keywords from the search results.

Whilst I am a big advocate of negative keywords, you have to be very careful when adding them into your adgroups. Most people are unaware of the matching types for negative keywords and just dragging keywords phrases into your adgroups without considering matching can cause you to restrict valid searches. So use that feature with care.

You can find the official announcement from Google on their Adwords Blog.

So, are you a dinosaur like me. Will you miss the old tool? Let me know I am not alone and post a comment below:)

Search Funnels just happens to be one of those REALLY useful tools.

If you have every turned off a poorly converting keyword and then seen you better keywords starting to perform badly, this new tool from Google may hold the answer.

Anyone who has studied website behavior will [...]]]> Every so often Google releases something really using for Adwords.

Search Funnels just happens to be one of those REALLY useful tools.

If you have every turned off a poorly converting keyword and then seen you better keywords starting to perform badly, this new tool from Google may hold the answer.

Anyone who has studied website behavior will know that people generally come to a website many times before making a purchase.

Not everyone is ready to buy when they start searching for a particular item. Usually we are all in a browsing frame of mind as we research what is available. The keywords we use whilst in that frame of mind are generally quite broad in nature.

However as we start to narrow down the options, our search phrases get more precise. The final conversion is therefore usually following a very specific search and it’s that keyword phrase that gets credited with the sale.

However the truth is that those early searches may have opened us up to the site we eventually buy from.

I’m sure we’ve all done that when we are researching some we plan to buy. We find that one or two sites keep popping up the searches and as we visit those sites more often their message starts to connect with us.

This ultimately improves that sites chance of closing the sale when we make that final, very specific buying search.

So without those earlier searches sending us to that website, we may not have purchased finally from that site. This is why those early, broader keywords are important to us.

So how do you know if your conversions are being fed by other keywords?

With Search Funnels of course!

The video below is taken from a recent Webinar I hosted where I went through a few of the new features Google had recently launched.

In this video I’ll show you Search Funnels and how to run them on your Adwords campaigns.

Enjoy!

Strong words?

Maybe.

Let’s face it, they are a business and not a charity. Extended Broad Match must have generated them millions in extra revenue from unsuspecting advertisers who had no idea how vaguely their keywords were being matched.

Now finally they have met us [...]]]> Well it’s about time that Google addressed the crime that was extended broad matching.

Strong words?

Maybe.

Let’s face it, they are a business and not a charity. Extended Broad Match must have generated them millions in extra revenue from unsuspecting advertisers who had no idea how vaguely their keywords were being matched.

Now finally they have met us half way with what looks like a workable alternative to Extended Broad Match. They have introduced Modified Broad Match.

What this does is it allows you to lock one or more works in your keyword phrase so that those words are not subjected to the broader matching options that Google can offer and only allow simple variations (eg: plurals).

You see, if you use broad match without the modification then the word shoe could be matched with searches for footwear (shoes being footwear!). While this might work in some case. I have seen searches for cat products returning ads for dogs products. NOT a good match.

With modified, I could insist that the word cat exists in the phrase and allow Google to me more “broad” with the other terms.

It’s a nice compromise and my early tests have yielded some good matches.

To use this option, you simply put a plus sign (+) in front of your chosen word. It’s very much like the way you would set a negative keyword with a minus sign.

The short video below explains this in more detail.

Sometimes these new feature just feel like they are tinkering at the edges. However some are definitely more in the “wow, that’s useful!” category.

One of their latest ideas is certainly in the useful category.

If you [...]]]> Google are continually adding changes to Adwords. I know. I make it my business to check all of the new features.

Sometimes these new feature just feel like they are tinkering at the edges. However some are definitely more in the “wow, that’s useful!” category.

One of their latest ideas is certainly in the useful category.

If you have a business that gets a lot of it’s business over the phone (eg: hotels, restaurants, taxis, plumbers, etc) then there new Click to Call ads should be of serious interest to you.

I talked about this new feature at one of my regular webinars and we managed to record the talk.

So, watch the video below. I will explain exactly what Click to Call is and then I will show you how to turn it on in your campaigns.

Is this something that your business could use?

I’d really like to hear examples of businesses that could make great use of this new feature. Please comment below if you can think of any.

By the way, every month I produce a series of exclusive web promotion videos for my Fast Forward members. I’m currently offering a two month trial worth £159 for only £5. Why not take a look. Click on the button below.

The question in full was “how do you know what the best time of day is to run a google adword campaign for a particular keyphrase”?

Well here’s the answer.

The truth is that Adwords [...]]]> At one of my regular website Promotion Q&A sessions, I was asked an excellent question about the best time of day to advertise.

The question in full was “how do you know what the best time of day is to run a google adword campaign for a particular keyphrase”?

Well here’s the answer.

The truth is that Adwords itself doesn’t give you all the information you need to make that decision because what you need to know is when are you making your most profitable conversions.

As I explain in the video below, Adwords will tell you when you are getting the most clicks during the day but that doesn’t mean that is when you make the most sales.

To get a full answer you need Google Analytics.

Watch the video below to get the full answer.

To show conversion per hour, click on the clock face display.

Please let me know if this has been useful by commenting below.

However one of the common questions I get is how do you go about setting up and writing a blog.

Well here are my Seven Easy Steps to setting up your Own Blog.

Just click on the video below to start it playing.

This video was taken from [...]]]> A blog is an excellent tool for website promotion.

However one of the common questions I get is how do you go about setting up and writing a blog.

Well here are my Seven Easy Steps to setting up your Own Blog.

Just click on the video below to start it playing.

This video was taken from our Fast Forward Members club. Every month were produce various web promotion videos to help our members generate website traffic and make sales.

At the moment we have a two month trial. Just click on the link below to take a look.

Last months was no exception with some great questions being asked. I’m really being kept on my toes by all these questions!

Here’s just a sample of some of the questions asked in last months webinar.

How do you approach B2B [...]]]> Our Website Promotion Q&A sessions are becoming a popular regular feature now at KKSmarts.

Last months was no exception with some great questions being asked. I’m really being kept on my toes by all these questions!

Here’s just a sample of some of the questions asked in last months webinar.

Business to Business Sales

How do you approach B2B sales for your website. I actually think you need to approach this using what I call P2P selling.

Best Time to Advertising in Adwords

Excellent question! There are going to be times of the day when your products sell better than others. Those are times when you may want to focus your advertising spend. So how do you find out what those times are. Adwords doesn’t tell you but Analytics does!

Getting your Website Promotion Noticed

How do you make sure your website promotion activities are noticed? The trick is to stand out as I explain in this video.

Some people achieve it more by luck than judgement but once they achieve it they certainly enjoy the results!

However, you don’t have to trust to luck. There are some clear guidelines that you can follow that will help ensure your [...]]]> Writing Ads in Google Adwords that are highly clickable is one of the keys to success.

Some people achieve it more by luck than judgement but once they achieve it they certainly enjoy the results!

However, you don’t have to trust to luck. There are some clear guidelines that you can follow that will help ensure your Ad gets a high click through rate.

In this recent broadcast, I explain these guidelines and show you how to write Ads that gets clicks.

Pless play to listen.