We’ve already discussed how to use Facebook Ads for PPC but this is only one type of PPC. Another network that provides a similar service is the highly popular ‘Google AdWords’. AdWords is like a mix between Facebook Ads and SEO, essentially letting you pay ‘per click’ for ads that appear on specific SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). You choose the keywords that you intend to target, pay for an ad and then have your results show just above the organic results as a ‘sponsored result’.
Quick Lesson: AdWords as a Research Tool
Interestingly, you can also use AdWords as a research tool before you do your SEO. Bearing in mind that it can take a long time to succeed at SEO and to get to the top of the organic search results, it’s a good idea to make sure that your search terms are worth ranking for before you put in all that time and effort or before you pay someone a lot of money to do it for you.
As such, you should consider using AdWords as a result tool by testing the search terms that you’re interested in ranking for as AdWords keywords. If those ads bring in lots of money, then you know it’s worth finding the organic results. If they don’t? Then you should try different keywords and see if they do better. Once you find a term that is profitable, then you know it’s worth putting in the time.
Using AdWords instead of Facebook Ads provides unique benefits. For instance, it means that you’ll be able to target your visitors when they’re actively looking for the kinds of content you provide. At the same time, you’ll also have some specific tools that you can use to enhance your campaign. For instance, Google ‘Remarketing’ targets people who have already been to your website and visited a specific page. An example of how this can be used is to retarget people who spent time looking at your eBook with ads for that same eBook. This is an incredibly high ROI way to advertise because the person already knows what you’re advertising and thus aren’t likely to click on your ad unless they’re interested in buying the product.
Another unique feature of AdWords is that it lets you include something called ‘negative keywords’. These are keywords that you want to filter out so that your ads won’t show. An example of this might be to filter out the word ‘free’ – this way you won’t waste time advertising to someone who has expressly stated they’re not looking to spend money.
AdWords also integrates with Google Analytics which provides you with a ton of data and metrics that you don’t get from Facebook. For instance, what you can do with an Analytics account and an AdWords account is to set up goals – such as someone buying your book. You can then look at your control panel to see which ads are resulting in the most actual conversions – rather than just the most clicks. This kind of insight lets you hone your advertising campaign far more precisely and greatly increase their effectiveness over time.
