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What is AdWords?
Google is the world's largest search engine and is the most widely used search engine on the Web. When people are looking for something online, 80% of them turn to Google. That's why Google's pay-per-click (PPC) advertising system, Google AdWords, is so important. People take notice of sponsored links; 1-5% of AdWords ads are clicked by interested visitors. AdWords helps you get your website listed above or along the right side of the top search results for your industry. You can also have your ad appear as a sponsored link in sites with content that is relevant to your own. This kind of advertising is the great equalizer of the Internet. Even if you can't afford branding strategies and expensive advertising your business can still compete online with the big names using PPC advertising. In AdWords, ranking isn't only determined by the amount you bid on a keyword, it's also based on how often your ad is clicked. So if you can write a great ad that gets lots of people to click, you can earn a higher rank. The cost you pay per click can range between 5 cents and several hundred dollars, depending on the keywords you bid on. Generally, most people end up paying between 25 cents and $1.00 per click. Your ad's rank determines where your ad is positioned on a search page. The higher your rank, the better position you'll receive – which means you'll get more clicks than the ads lower down. Your rank is determined by a combination of factors – the amount you bid on a keyword, the relevance of your ad, and the percentage of people who click on it.
What You'll Need To set up an AdWords account, you'll need the following:
Get an Account and Start a Campaign in 10 Easy Steps |
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Go to the AdWords homepage and click “Click to Begin.”
In the next two screens, select your language and location targeting options, and click “Continue.”
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Fill out the information you wish to display in your ad text and click “Continue.”
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Select keywords that will best target your ad to Google searchers and click “Continue.”
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Select your billing currency – the currency you'll use to pay for your AdWords account. Now enter the amount willing to spend on this ad campaign each day.
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On the same page, enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay per click.
On the same page, click “ View Traffic Estimator” to view your average CPC and cost estimates then click “Continue.”
Review all your ad selections so far. Click “Edit” to make any changes. Click “Continue to Sign Up.”
If you have a Google Account, enter your email account name and password in the fields provided and click“ Create My AdWords Account.” If not, click “Create a new Google Account to be your login to AdWords.”
When you first log in to your account, you'll see a red message box at the top of the page. Click “ Billing Preferences .” Complete the account setup process and click “ Save and Activate .” If you're paying by credit card or debit card, this will complete the sign up process and your ads begin running on Google almost immediately. If you elect to prepay for your AdWords account, you'll have to submit your payment info and send your first payment before your ads will appear.
Beyond AdWords AdWords isn't the only pay-per-click search engine advertising program out there. If you want to cover all your bases, you might also want to consider the Yahoo Search Marketing program. It works in a similar way as Google AdWords, except your ads appear in Yahoo's search engine and partner websites. Click here to find out more. |
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