SEO shouldn’t simply be about finding the top search engine ranking improvements for your website.  Search is a broad term that includes any method of finding what you want.  SEO is about making your page visible to the people who want to find it.  Many SEO purists claim that paying for the opportunity to have your site shown to potential customers is not SEO.  I disagree, since any honest SEO who is worth what you pay will tell you that real search engine ranking improvements take time. What do you as a company while you are waiting for “real SEO” to get your website ranked higher?  The obvious choice is to use Google’s Adwords, or the similar offerings from Bing and Yahoo!

Here is how adwords works in case you haven’t heard:

  1. You place a bid on search keywords related to what you sell.
  2. Whenever someone searches for those keywords, the search results contain ads for the highest bidders.
  3. When someone clicks on the ad, and only when someone clicks on the ad, the bidder pays Google.

What makes Adwords work so well?

  • You only pay when someone actually visits your site!
  • You get to choose any keywords you want, so pick the best keywords you can.  Choose the keywords that people use when they are ready to make a purchase!
  • You choose how much you are willing to pay for a click, and the maximum you are willing to spend overall.  You never pay more!
  • Adwords ads are pay-per-click, so your ad gets shown to many more people than you actually pay for.

What is the Adwords conversion rate?

  • This is the percentage of visitors who actually make a purchase after clicking your ads.
  • If you multiply the average purchase price by your conversion rate, this will give you the maximum bid you should use for your keyword.

How can you improve your Adwords conversion rate?

  • The best way to improve your conversion rate is to link your ads to a well designed landing page.  A good landing page should contain only what a visitor needs to see, and nothing else!  Buyers always choose the first option that meets all of their needs.  If that is you, you get the sale!
  • Some keywords just don’t work well.  If your keyword has multiple meanings, you had better hope that you are the meaning they want.  If you sell something that has the same name as a popular new video game for example, don’t expect your visitors to be prepared to buy.
  • Make sure your ad is very specific.  This will reduce the number of clicks you get, but you will only get clicks from people more ready to buy.

ELW offers some of the best ideas for running a profitable Adwords campaign.  We will give you a free consultation with no obligation to use our services.  Contact us and we will be glad to help out.