Just Add Words #Squared2012

In the wonderful world of search, brands which are investing in Google Adwords are facing an endless battle to make sure their brand comes up trumps when a consumer types in a related search query. The concept of Adwords can seem amazingly complex but can be understood through simplified definitions as reiterated by Einstein ‘Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler’.

I managed to have my own experience in setting up an Adwords campaign in order to increase traffic to a website, if you are reading this now, it has probably worked. These adverts appear either above the natural search results or down the right hand side. The whole concept of Adwords is that you produce an advert (be it text, picture or video) and bid on keywords which you think the consumer will type in when looking for your product, with the aim to get as high up in the search results as possible.

Google Adwords Campaign main screen
(Before any clicks)

A brand wishing to invest in a search campaign has to consider who they are trying to connect to, how they are going to communicate their message and how they are going to convert them. A brand has to fully lay out their marketing objectives before starting the process.The best thing about Google Adwords is that it is real-time - brands can monitor and optimise when things are working/not working and quickly react to external affects which maybe affecting searches for their product. Each campaign will be totally different from the next as product, budget and time are great influencers in the process of the campaign.

How Adwords Adverts appear on the page

However, it is not as simple as bidding on keywords and then suddenly your brand is on the top - there is a science behind it. The most important aspect is the quality score - this is a score that Google places on your website which will determine where you sit in the pecking order of sites. The quality score is essentially how Google make their money and it's what keeps their consumers using them as their primary search engine. There are 3 fundamental things which influence the quality score, these are the CTR, relevancy and landing page. The CTR is one of the most contributing factors to the quality score as it directly relates to the queries, keyword and the creative. 
The higher your CTR, will reflect on how relevant you are which will contribute to your quality score. Moreover, the landing page where you are sending consumers to has to be as relevant as the advert itself. It is a massive Google NO NO to use a fake and alluring advert to then send them to a completely irrelevant website. Therefore Google not only monitor the advert the consumers are clicking on, but also where you are sending them.

A good quality score affects your eligibility (whether your ad is eligible for the query), the position (how relevant is your ad related to the query?), the price (better quality score reduces the price) and the top slot (only quality ads are eligible to appear above the natural search results).

The quality score essentially is the money-maker for Google, so it is very hard to get to the top - many people who work in search strive for the highest possible quality score - but sometimes you have to accept the score you have even if you have done everything right and by the book.

So, how do Google make their money out of the quality score? Well, the more relevant the ad, the more the user experience is enhanced and therefore keeps consumers coming back. If the ads are more relevant and appropriate to your query, the more likely you are to click on the ad, thus making google money. The quality score helps eradicate spam as it is useless to the user and might stop them from using the engine. Imagine if you typed in a search for toothbrushes and you got bombarded with irrelevant spam that had nothing to do with toothbrushes? Useless, right? The fact that google also monitors the landing page, further ensures the relevancy of the search results.

So why would you use adwords search as part of your integrated advertising campaign? You are targeting your consumers when they are actively looking for you. You only pay when you get people clicking on your advert. Simple. If you want to see an absolute kick-ass search campaign, where the benefits of search are hugely exemplified, check out Converse Domainaition.  

Lesson 16: Quality scores are what make Google Adwords interesting