Kethyr's CAMEL Report
Mountain View, California
Sunday, June 1, 2008

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"I know I need to be in Google … but that can be expensive if you don't know what you're doing."

I hear comments like this all the time from entrepreneurs and small business owners just like you who've discovered that simply having a Website isn't enough to be successful on the Internet.

Google's paid search advertising service, Google AdWords, allows you to connect with prospective customers and clients at the precise moment they're looking for your products or services online. And, according to Google, the Google advertising network reaches more than 80% of all Internet users.

With Google AdWords you create your own ads, choose keywords to help Google match your ads to your target audience, and pay only when someone clicks on them.

Getting your Website listed on Google AdWords is a way to drive targeted traffic to your Website almost instantly. Write your ads, select your keywords, set your budget, and when people perform Google searches using the keywords you've selected your ad will show up on the right-hand side of their search results.

You have total control over every aspect of your Google AdWords campaign, and can even define your target geographic area by choosing specific counties or cities where your ad will appear.

But choosing the right keywords can be tricky.

There are thousands of Internet articles, forums, blogs, and e-books devoted to "mastering Google AdWords" — some better than others. But I'm going to show you how to do it in three easy steps.

There are over a half-million Google AdWords advertisers, and new people are jumping on the program in droves. I think it's fair to say that most of them are unsuccessful — meaning they end up spending more on their Google AdWords than they generate in sales.

That's because most new advertisers shoot for the moon — trying to secure the top keywords at a premium. You see, Google AdWords ads are offered in an auction format. The most sought after keywords (like "mortgage," "hosting," "ring tones," "depression," and "therapy") are placed up for auction, and the highest bidder receives the TOP spot on the right-hand side of the search results pages.

Click-through costs for top positions in Google can be as high as $100 per click. So if your advertising cap is $300 per month, your account would close after a measly three clicks. You can see why most AdWords advertisers walk away shell-shocked.

But you can get listed on Google AdWords without breaking the bank. Here's how:

Easy Step #1 For Mastering Google AdWords: The Money Is In The Middle

Instead of trying to secure the top spot and paying a premium for it … shoot for the middle.

Sure, most of the people searching Google (or any search engine for that matter) rarely look deeper than two or three pages. So, if your AdWords ad is on page 4, 5, 6, or 70 of the search results, you'll probably receive very little action. (Not many potential clients will click through to your page.)

What's more, most of the advertisers "at or near the bottom" of the AdWords ladder typically stay there or drop out. And guess what? Advertisers "near the top" of the AdWords ladder usually drop out too — because it's just too costly.

That's why you need to aim for the middle of the cost-per-click range.

When you place bids for keywords in the middle range, the chances are very good that your ad will move up the totem pole (without any added expense) when advertisers near the top drop out. And many times your ad will be featured on the FIRST search results page, right next to the big spenders.

Easy Step #2 For Mastering Google AdWords: Getting Rich From Research

Most people don't have the time to research keywords. They develop a list of words off the top of their head, or they receive help from people who have no Internet, search engine marketing, or direct-response expertise.

If you want to separate yourself from the 500,000+ Google AdWords advertisers, you'll need to do some basic research on the keywords that you want to purchase. But fear not. There's an easy way to do it — and it can even be a lot of fun.

There are hundreds of keyword research tools and applications on the Internet. Two of the better ones are Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com/) and Keywords Analyzer (http://www.keywordsanalyzer.com/).

I also like Google's Zeitgeist (http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist.html). This tool will show you the most popular Google keyword searches in several categories.

Another tool I like is Overture's Keyword Selection Tool (http://www.vretoolbar.com/keywords/). (Overture has been bought out by Yahoo. However their keyword selection tool is still active.) This is not perfect. It's only a gauge of popular keyword search terms for the previous month. But when you combine it with Google's Zeitgeist, it's pretty powerful.

You'll want to select keywords that already have a large volume of search traffic — not words that you think will have huge search traffic. That's where your research comes in. Once you've studied which words are drawing the most traffic, you'll have a better idea of which keywords you need to use.

For example, let's say you're offering depression treatment products or services — and, by the way, the word "depression" received more than 1,500,000 searches in April 2008 and the phrase "depression treatment" more than 215,000. How do you tie your keyword ads to current popular search traffic?

Let's take a look at some of the top keyword searches in Google. For the week ending May 24, 2008, they were:

1. American Idol Finale
2. George Michaels
3. David Cook
4. Huntington's Disease
5. 2008 Olympics
6. Malignant Tumors
7. Glioma
8. Memorial Day
9. China Quake
10. Recession

You might be able to work with some of these top-ranking keywords for your product or service. For instance:

• Huntington's disease depression
• Malignant tumors depression
• Glioma depression treatment
• Memorial Day depression
• Recession depression

Keep in mind that straight keyword ads work too (depression treatment, symptom of depression, manic depression, postpartum depression, anxiety depression, depression help, etc.).

After you've selected your keywords, you'll need a headline for your ad that stands out from the masses. The objective is to drive traffic to your site and close the sale.

That brings me to writing headlines.

Easy Step #3 For Mastering Google AdWords: Headlines Make ALL the Difference

Google AdWords allows space for three lines of text — a headline, the body, and your URL.

Whenever possible, the URL should describe your product: DepressionTreatment.com, OvercomingDepression.com, DepressionSupport.com … or something like that. People won't always bother clicking your ad — they'll often type the URL right into their browser.

The body should offer an immediate benefit, like "Successfully Overcome Depression," or "Conquer Depression Today," or "Drug-Free Depression Treatment."

There are thousands of approaches to writing Google AdWords headlines. Enter a few of the top keywords listed above into Google and you'll see what I mean. Just make sure your headline grabs your prospect's attention — and doesn't let go until he or she clicks on your ad.

Ask yourself which headlines are working for your competitors. Which headlines do you see repeated week after week after week? The reason most AdWords advertisers continue running the same ad is because it works.

If you can make it work for your product or service, come up with an unusual or newsworthy headline that will stand out from all the other possibilities staring at your prospect. (Do a search on Google news for ideas.)

For instance, same-sex marriages were a big news item the week of May 18th, 2008, so you could try these Google AdWords headlines to promote your depression treatment products and services:

• Same-Sex Marriage Depression
• Gay Marriage Depression
• Overcome Marriage Depression

Once you've mastered Google AdWords, you'll get plenty of prospects clicking through to your Website. Then it's up to your site to make the sale. This is a separate topic for another article, but make sure your Website copy flows naturally with your Google AdWords ad … If you do, you'll reap the rewards of a successful AdWords campaign!

Yours in success,

Sean Eric Armstrong
Kethyr's CAMEL Report

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